Manila Standard - 2018 July 18 - Wednesday

VOL. XXXII • NO. 153 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

WEATHER Classes, offices closed amid monsoon rain

By Joel E. Zurbano THE heavy downpours on Tuesday resulted in flooding in the major thoroughfares, prompting Malacañang to suspend government office work and afternoon classes in all levels in the public schools in Metro Manila.

Motorists and commuters faced heavy traffic during the morning rush hours along the major arteries including España Boulevard, Next page

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY. Rain clouds blanket the Tuesday skyline of the country’s capital city of Manila (top) as tropical depression ‘Henry’ made a landfall in northern Luzon, affecting the smoke-filled metropolis and nearby provinces with monsoon rains while weathermen kept themselves on alert.

Below (topmost) A man braves heavy rains as he tries to locate recyclable materials washed ashore along the winds-whipped Manila Bay seawall; along Manila’s Taft Avenue (middle) vehicles go through knee-deep floodwaters following non-stop downpour overnight; commuters (below) are stranded along T.M. Kalaw and United Nations Avenue; while (right below) vehicles are hobbled at the Pasay City portion of Edsa after the cloudburst. AFP with Ey Acasio and Norman Cruz

Duterte barred from reelection inserts proviso in final draft Federal shift seen Con-Com

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz disrupting growth RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is banned from seeking ONE of President Rodrigo Duterte’s top economic managers on Tuesday warned that the rush to implement federalism may set back the country’s economic progress and leave most of the regions even further behind.

In an interview with The Chiefs, a public affairs talk show, Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said it would take years before most of the country’s regions are ready for federalism. In the meantime, Pernia said, these regions would only lag behind.

Moreover, Pernia worried that the shift to federalism now would disrupt the country’s economic growth.

“It’s unlikely that the regions will be Next page

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reelection in the 2022 national elections based on the final official copy of the proposed federal constitution released by the consultative committee (Con-Com) Tuesday.

The final copy shows that the 22-member panel acceded to Duterte’s request to eliminate his chance of running for a reelection under a new constitution.

“The incumbent President is prohibited from running as President in the 2022 elections under the Constitution,” reads Section 2, Article XXII (Transitory Provisions) under the federal constitution.

“The term of the President and the Vice President, which shall end on June 30, 2022, shall not be extended,” reads Section 1 of Article XXII. Section 3 of the same article mandates that the incumbent President “shall call for an election for the Transition President and Vice President in tandem” within six months from ratification of the federal constitution.

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Sino envoy hits out at ‘province of China’ banner

By Rey Requejo and Evalea Casaljay THE Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines said Tuesday that satirical banners portraying the country as a province of China was an attack on Filipino-Chinese relations.

“It’s kind of a vicious attack… it is bad for the bilateral relationship and it’s also bad for the Filipino people,” said Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua.

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Sereno draws SC reprimand, warning

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court on Tuesday admonished ousted chief justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno for discussing the merits of the quo warranto case filed against her by Solicitor General Jose Calida in public, while it was

still pending before the tribunal.

The SC also reprimanded Sereno for her attacks against her former SC colleagues at the height of the deliberation on the quo warranto case, where the ousted top magistrate appeared in several forums and media interviews Next page

THE Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously endorsed the nomination of Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Martires as Ombudsman, after Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales retires on July 26.

Martires got the support of 11 of the 12 SC associate justices who were present during the regular en banc session Tuesday. He did not take part during the voting, while Associate Justices Alfredo Caguioa and Estela Bernabe were absent.

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By Fr. Ranhilio Aquino Con-Com 2018 Member

(4th in a series) Q: What is the point in having a section on the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the Bill of Rights, considering that it is among the emergency powers of the President?

A: The writ of habeas corpus is a writ of liberty and it is a legal guarantee that whoever is wrongfully detained is speedily freed from detention. As such its availability properly belongs to the Bill Next page of Rights.

Rising rapper tops MTV nominations NEW YORK—Fast-rising rapper Cardi B on Monday topped nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Jay-Z and Beyonce’s ornate work shot at the Louvre and the Next page

WC ‘idols’ come home as heroes PARIS—The World Cup-winning French team returned home to a heroes’ welcome on Monday, parading down the Champs-Elysees as hundreds of thousands of cheering fans gave a raucous welcome to the country’s newest Next page idols.

SC justice endorsed for Ombudsman

By Rey E. Requejo

Primer on Con-Com draft

CHARTER CHANGE. At a public hearing Tuesday convened by the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, consultative committee leaders to review the 1987 Charter—(from right) chairperson and former Supreme Court chief justice Reynato Puno, Con-Com member and former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and reactor former Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide—explain their views before senators. Ey Acasio

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Aquino bucks NBI push for malverse raps on dengue FORMER President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday slammed the recommendation of the National Bureau of Investigation to the Office of the Ombudsman to prosecute him and two former Cabinet members for technical misuse of public funds in connection with the implementation of the P3.5-billion anti-dengue immunization program by his administration.

He slammed the bureau even as the Education department on Tuesday it and the Health department had pledged to cooperate in the development of two systems that would allow the government to monitor the condition of pupils and students previously administered with the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia®.

The NBI earlier asked the Ombudsman to indict Aquino, former Health secretary Janette Garin and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr. for technical malversation under Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code.

Aquino said the NBI violated his right to due process when it did not get his side or answer during its fact-finding investigation before coming up with its findings.

“It’s not clear to me if the NBI followed the process to come up with their findings... We don’t know what evidence they have... Was there really an investigation conducted?” Aquino said at the Justice department after filing his rejoinder in the charges against him. Rey E. Requejo

Cha-Cha plan without Senate stinks—Lacson

By Macon Ramos-Araneta REACTING to the persistent talk of pushing through with Charter change without the Senate's participation, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday “it smells worse than a week-old shit from an unflushed toilet of a congressman suffering from colon cancer.”

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday said he would push for the postponement of the 2019 midterm elections to enable a smooth transition toward the proposed federal form of government.

He said the House alone—and even without the Senate—could work on the amendments to the 1987 Constitution, and that only three-fourths of the votes of all members of Congress was enough to approve the proposal. He claimed the Charter does not explicitly state that the voting should be done separately.

Senator Bam Aquino on Tuesday said he and fellow senators, either from the opposition or the administration, would not allow the railroading and bastardization of the process of changing the 1987 Constitution.

Sereno...

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Sereno also publicly assailed the decision of six of her colleagues―Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Samuel Martires and Noel Tijam―not to inhibit themselves from the case, saying they were biased against her.

The six magistrates testified against Sereno during the impeachment hearings at the House of Representatives.

In a media briefing, Court spokesman Theodore Te said the decision was reached by the magistrates during their en banc session Tuesday.

De Lima’s watchlist order unconstitutional, SC rules In an en banc session Tuesday, the magistrates voted to deny the motion for reconsideration filed by the government against its order.

Instead, the high court upheld its decision in April that declared unconstitutional De Lima’s Circular 41, which she used in 2011 to stop former President

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from leaving the country and seeking treatment abroad while facing electoral sabotage charges.

An insider said the ruling became final after the high court denied the appeal of the Justice department.

De Lima, who is detained over the drug charges against her, had used the same

order in likewise preventing her husband, former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, and former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairman Epharim Genuino from leaving the country.

The high court affirmed its decision to grant the petitions of the Arroyos and Genuino that were filed seven years ago, which assailed the Department of Justice circular that granted the Justice secretary the power to issue a watchlist order that had the same effect as a court-issued holddeparture order.

The high court held that the Justice secretary had no authority under the law to stop the accused in criminal cases from leaving the country while facing charges because only trial courts could issue holddeparture orders.

Duterte...

president shall turn over the reins of government to the newly elected transition president.

In Congress, administration allies pressed for a massive information campaign on the proposed shift to a federal system after an opinion poll showed a majority of Filipinos oppose it.

Representatives Ben Evardone of Easterm Samar and Luis Raymund Villafuerte stressed the need to educate the public about the advantages and benefits of a federal system in pursuing the Duterte administration’s goal of high and inclusive growth.

“It is really a big challenge for advocates of federalism and Charter change to convince the people on the need for these changes to ensure countryside development,” said Evardone, chairman of the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries.

Villafuerte, a vice chairman of the House committee on local government and a former governor, said local executives can kick off the information drive.

“Federalism is the best for the country as the government is already familiar with this setup and can easily identify which areas require improvements,” Villafuerte said.

“The information campaign on federalism should be intensified further so that the government would have enough time to educate the people about how this progressive form of government would be most beneficial for them, in terms of spreading the country’s economic gains to the countryside and raising rural incomes,” he added.

But Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said the problem with an information drive was that it would try to drum up support without examining the merits of the proposal.

In the past, he said, lecturers could not answer difficult questions, and local officials were made to sign documents in support of the shift, even if they still did not understand the issue, Alejano said.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin voiced concern over the pronouncement of Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia that it would take years before most of the country’s regions can adopt

federalism, and that the proposed shift would disrupt economic growth (see separate story).

“When Duterte’s economic managers say otherwise about the federalism push, it shows how the right hand does not agree with what the left hand is doing,” Villarin, a member of the opposition, said.

Alejano also noted that the rejection of most Filipinos on charter change and federalism came even after the massive information campaign on the ground and recruitment to federelism organizations.

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday called on the Duterte administration not to railroad the country’s shift to federalism, stressing that there are a lot of important questions and issues that need to be deliberated and addressed.

“It’s bad enough that the Duterte government is planning to employ undemocratic processes such as a Senate-less constituent assembly to change our Constitution; now, the citizens must also contend with the bad economics of President Duterte’s federalism,” Hontiveros said.

She said the only federal set-up worth supporting is one in which accountabilities are clear and decentralized and government institutions and economic development are made more accessible and brought closer to citizens.

“Unfortunately, this is not the President’s federalism,” she said.

Another opposition senator, Leila de Lima, questioned why the term “human rights” was nowhere to be found in the draft federal constitution prepared by the Con-Com. “I have a question for the Consultative Committee. How come the phrase ‘human rights’ is no longer found in the Article on Declaration of Principles and State Policies?” she said.

“Was the deletion of “human rights” deliberate? If so, why?” she added.

Also on Tuesday, a coalition of various organizations aired their opposition to Charter change.

Jose Morales of Tindig said the groups belonging to the United People’s Sona would hold a protest on Commonwealth Avenue before President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his third State of the Nation Address on July 23. With Rio N. Araja

Sino...

come to the Philippines, Province of China,” were strewn over several pedestrian walkways on July 12, the second anniversary of a UN tribunal’s decision favoring the Philippines in its territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea. On Tuesday, Zhao said “the Philippines can never be any part of China… not now, not ever.”

The Palace had accused “the government’s enemies” of being behind the banners.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also confirmed the arrival of the Chinese vessel in Davao.

“Yes. We know about it. The Chinese ambassador wrote to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs [Alan] Cayetano that it would be docking in Davao to refurbish, and it was allowed to do so,” Lorenzana told the online news service Rappler.

By Rey E. Requejo

HE Supreme Court has rejected with finality the 2010 circular issued by then Justice secretary and now detained Senator Leila de Lima arrogating to herself the authority to prevent the flight of people facing criminal charges.

T

From A1

“The Transition President and Vice President shall preside over the orderly transition to the federal system of government. He shall exercise all the powers of the President under this Constitution until June 30, 2022,” the draft continues.

Former chief justice Reynato Puno, who heads of the Con-Com proposing amendments to the 1987 Constitution, had earlier told the media about the prohibition on term extension.

Duterte had approved the Con-Com’s work for endorsement to Congress almost in full, except for an instruction to the body he created to craft a provision that would enable him to step down before the transition from a unitary to a federal system of government. “’It’s to remove all suspicions and I am tired. Ready to give it to somebody else,’” Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque, quoted him as saying.

In response, the Con-Com also tweaked its draft to provide for the election of a transition president and vice president― to be voted in tandem―within six months from the ratification of the proposed new constitution.

The earlier version of the draft vested the chairmanship of what has been called a “very powerful” Federal Transition Commission to Duterte, but this power would now go to the transition president.

“The Transition President and Vice President shall be ineligible to run for any public office in the May 2022 elections,” the Con-Com proposal states.

It retained an earlier section that disallowed the term extension of the president and the vice president.

Meanwhile, Con-Com spokesman Ding Generoso explained that if Vice President Leni Robredo wants to run for President, she can do so.

“The VP may run if she wishes to but not the incumbent President [Duterte],” Generoso said in a text message to reporters.

“Once a transition president and vice president are elected, Generoso noted that by operation of Sections 3 and 4 (of the Transitory Provisions), the incumbent Despite the half-day work suspension due to the inclement weather, the SC still proceeded with the regular en banc session.

“The Court, acting on the show cause order in its May 11, 2018 decision, reprimanded respondent with a stern warning that a repetition of the same act will merit a heavier penalty,” the Court said.

Part of the May 11 ruling that granted the quo warranto petition also issued a show cause order directing Sereno why she should not be held in contempt for discussing the case even while it is still pending in Court.

The tribunal then said such discussion in public violated the sub judice rule and cast aspersions and ill motives on members of the Court.

SC...

Federal...

Four justices voted for special prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval, while three voted for Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III. Martires, who was President Rodrigo Duterte’s first appointee to the high court, will reach the mandatory age of retirement of 70 in the judiciary on Jan. 2, 2019.

Should President Duterte appoint him as the next Ombudsman, Martires would have to go on early retirement.

The Judicial and Bar Council is set to release on July 20 its shortlist of nominees for Ombudsman post.

To be included in the shortlist are the candidates who will receive at least four votes from the panel members.

The JBC, concurrently chaired by acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, is constitutionally tasked to screen applicants and come up with a shortlist of nominees for vacancies in the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman and recommends appointees to the Office of the President.

ready and our concern, my concern is that we are moving now to connect the regions, to bring the lagging regions into the mainstream economy and that momentum of infrastructure improvement in the regions is going to be disrupted so it’s not going to be good for federalism,” Pernia said.

Pernia said it would take five or more years before the regions are in a position to adopt federalism.

In fact, Pernia said, the Cabinet’s economic team was even worried that rushing into federalism would cause many regions to lag even further behind.

At this point, only five of the proposed 18 federated regions have the political and economic infrastructure that would allow them to adopt federalism, Pernia said, naming four of these five as the National Capital Region, Cebu, Central Luzon, and Southern Tagalog.

Duterte has been pushing for federalism as a way to spur economic growth in the provinces, and to distribute wealth and power, which have centered on Metro Manila.

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His remarks followed news that a Chinese research vessel docked in Davao City Monday night to be “refurbished.”

The Navy said the Yuan Wang 3, a Chinese research vessel used for tracking and support of satellite and intercontinental ballistic missiles, docked in Davao City at 9:40 pm on Monday.

A Navy spokesman, Commander Jonathan Zata, said the visit was “routine” and there was nothing unusual about it.

“They are here for a replenishment, as granted by the diplomatic clearance issued by higher authorities. This is a routine ship visit similar to any other foreign ship wishing to call on our ports,” Zata said.

The satirical banners, which said “Wel-

WC...

From A1

After overcoming a determined Croatia to win 4-2 in Sunday’s final in Russia, the team came back to euphoric crowds in Paris hoping to catch a glimpse of the players that have captured the nation’s imagination.

Rising...

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politically charged “This is America” also enjoyed recognition.

Cardi B, who in little more than a year has become one of the most prominent women in the male-dominated world of hip-hop, received 10 nominations for the awards show that will take place on Aug. 20 in New York.

The Bronx native born as Belcalis Almanzar was in the running in both hiphop and Latin categories as well as Artist

The footballers did not disappoint, passing the golden World Cup trophy from player to player as they jumped and danced on an open-air bus with “World Champions” emblazoned on its side.

“Wow, it was completely crazy! They are too beautiful, France is beautiful!” said Julia Cohen, 28, after seeing players pass by on the Champs-Elysees, the gathering point for all national celebrations. AFP of the Year and Best New Artist.

The 25-year-old, who recently became a mother, was nominated for Video of the Year as the featured artist on “Finesse” by funk revivalist Bruno Mars. The video pays tribute to “In Living Color,” the trailblazing African-American television comedy show of the early 1990s.

Cardi B stormed into pop culture prominence last year with “Bodak Yellow,” a song in which she touches on her former life making ends meet as a stripper, but was controversially passed over at the latest Grammy Awardst—which Mars dominated.AFP

Primer...

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Q: What are the proposed grounds justifying the suspension of the privilege of the writ?

A: While under the 1987 Constitution, only invasion and rebellion were the recognized grounds, with the chapeau requirement that public safety so required such a suspension, “lawless violence” is now an added ground. The addition of this ground does not prejudice the freedoms and liberties of people, for freedoms and liberties mean little when the State itself is in mortal danger. An act of terrorism or a series of acts of terrorism may not constitute rebellion, much less invasion, but should be sufficient for the State to take the protective measure of suspending the privilege of the writ.

Q: The writs of amparo and habeas data are now mentioned. What is the significance of this?

A: These two writs started as rules promulgated by the Supreme Court pursuant to the rule-making power of the Court under the 1987 Constitution. With their mention in the Constitution, they are now given constitutional status and can neither be rescinded by a new Supreme Court rule, nor negated by contradicting federal or regional legislation.

Q: Why “privilege of the writ”?

A: What is suspended is properly speaking not the writ—which simply means order, specifically an order issued by the court, but its privilege. When a person who is detained challenges the legality of her detention in court, the court issues an order to the detaining office or officer to explain the reason for the detention and to produce the person of the petitioner before the court. This is the writ. If the court, after listening to the petitioner and to the respondent, is convinced that the detention is not warranted, it orders the release of the petitioner. This is the privilege of the writ. It is this that is suspended under the circumstances mentioned in the section.

Q: What is the writ of amparo?

A: It is an order issues in cases of enforced disappearances, or when there is a threat to the life, liberty or security of a person by any person or group, government agent or not. When a person has been forcibly taken and cannot be located, the writ of amparo compels the persons or groups known to have taken him to explain where he is and to produce him. No general denials such as “Wala siya sa amin” or “Hindi namin alam kung saan siya” are allowed. Or when a person catches wind of a threat on the part either of state agents or others to capture him or worse, harm or kill him, the writ of amparo compels the parties suspected of plotting to appear before the court. The privilege of the writ consists in commanding such persons to stay away from the petitioner, to desist from the planned action and whatever else the court may deem appropriate to protect the petitioner.

Q: What is the writ of habeas data?

A: Let us assume that the PDEA has secretly gathered information against you and you are marked as a suspect in drug trafficking. You protest your innocence because you have never been so engaged.

But you very well know that acting on the information (data) it has, PDEA could very well be planning your capture or, worse, your demise “pag ikaw ay nanlaban”. By petitioning the court for a writ of habeas data, you are able to compel PDEA to produce in court whatever information and data it may have against you. The privilege of the writ may consist in the deletion of the data or the correction of errors when so warranted.

Q: Will persons not be able to negate the effects of the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus by resorting to amparo or, when appropriate, habeas data?

A: Not really, because “unless prejudicial to public order” guarantees against this. When a person is detained by virtue of a lawful suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, it would be prejudicial to public order to release him through a writ of amparo. Furthermore, the writs of amparo and habeas data have a wider scope than habeas corpus, and so the protection they afford should be available even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended.

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E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon Boulevard, Araneta Avenue, Quirino Avenue and Roxas Boulevard, which were affected by flash floods.

In other developments: • A total of 351 seagoing passengers, five vessels and three motorboats were stranded in Cagayan and Palawan due to the rain brought by tropical depression “Henry,” the National Disaster Risk Response and Management Council said in an update on Tuesday.

• A landslide hit the Kaybiang Tunnel Road in Cavite’s upland town of Maragondon around 4 am Tuesday, rendering the tunnel impassable to motorists.

• The Philippine National Railways suspended trips on Tuesday due to the rain caused by the enhanced southwest monsoon.

In its advisory, the Metro Manila Development Authority said various parts of Metro Manila were flooded and not passable to light vehicles. With PNA

News N. Ecija cop, suspect killed in anti-illegal drug operation

By Francisco Tuyay A POLICE anti-narcotic operative and a drug suspect were killed in a shootout following a buy-bust operation in General Tinio town in Nueva Ecija Monday night.

Central Luzon police director Chief Supt. Amador Corpus identified the slain policeman as P01 Mariano Emmanuel Caparas, a member of the General Tinio Municipal Police Station, while the dead drug peddler was identified only as a certain Abet.

Corpuz said P01 Caparas was on an anti-illegal drugs mission against a notorious drug peddler in Sitio Saudi, Barangay Pias in General Tinio when the drug suspect, sensing that he’s dealing with a law enforcer, drew his gun and fired at Caparas.

Corpuz said the suspect was subsequently gunned down when other members of the arresting team returned fire.

Caparas sustained gunshot wounds in different parts of his body and was rushed to the Medicare Community Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Recovered at the crime scene were the policeman’s Glock 9mm pistol and 10 caliber 99mm spent shells, one deformed fired bullet, one black Kawasaki Bajaj motorcycle with license plate 946-II and a heated-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing suspected shabu.

“This is unfortunate news for us as one of our members was killed in line with our diligent efforts to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs and while nothing can make up for his loss, along with our deepest condolences, we assure his bereaved family that they will get the necessary benefits that is due them,” Corpuz said.

BI employees set to receive OT pay based on new Palace ruling

By Vito Barcelo IMMIGRATION employees will finally receive their overtime pay anytime this week after Malacañang issued guidelines on the use of income from express lane fund (ELF) to augment their salaries which was vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte last year.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea issued Memorandum Order 24 on July 13, but a copy of which was only released Tuesday.

The suspension of BI workers’ overtime pay has caused longer queues at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport because many employees skipped work as a sign of protest to Duterte’s move to put the bureau’s earnings to the national treasury instead of paying the workers for overtime work.

In his veto message, Duterte allowed the establishment of a trust fund to be sourced from express lane fees, subject to guidelines from the departments of Justice and Budget and Management, and the Commission on Audit.

Duterte vetoed the use of express lane fund (ELF) for the payment of salaries of casual and contractual Immigration personnel, confidential agents and employees, payment of health premiums, and augmentation of salaries of workers who render services beyond office hours.

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

CHA-CHA HEARING.

Senators Francis Pangilinan, Juan Edgardo Angara and Paolo Benigno Aquino IV react as they watch a presentation of the Consultative Committee Draft Federal Constitution during yesterday’s Senate committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes public hearing chaired

by Pangilinan on the proposal to change/ amend the 1987 Constitution.

Ey Acasio

House, Senate to ratify bicam-approved BBL

By Maricel V. Cruz

S

ENATORS and congressmen are expected to ratify the final draft of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law when the 17th Congress opens its third regular session on Monday.

House majority leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas said the bicameral conference committee’s approved version of the BBL will be submitted to the President for his reconsideration. Fariñas is the head of the House of Representatives’ contingent head to the bicameral conference committee on the BBL. The joint congressional panel was expected to approve a final version of the BBL Tuesday—that is ‘constitutional’ and acceptable to all parties concerned.

The House’s version was embodied in House Bill 6475 while the Senate’s under Senate Bill 1717.

The President’ s imminent BBL signing into law next week gives him the power to appoint the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority this December, according to Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, head of the Senate con-

tingent head of the bicameral conference committee on the BBL. The BBL proposes to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The newly created Bangsamoro region shall be called the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“But ARMM will be retained should the creation of BARMM lose in the plebiscite,” Zubiri said at a news conference during Tuesday’s bicameral conference committee meeting held at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel.

Zubiri said the expected approval of the BBL bill “was the day that God has made for all of us, especially Mindanao although it’s a rainy day, it is sunny in Mindanao.”

“And we look at it as a sign, that finally we’ll be able to end this longdrawn problem of conflict in the island of Mindanao. Hopefully with this law,

peace will reign for long period of time.

For their children and their children’s children,” said Zubiri.

Zubiri said the first election in BARMM could be held simultaneously with the 2022 presidential elections.

He said Congress leaders are hopeful that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will support the bicameral conference committee-approved measure as they have made every provision of the proposed law acceptable to the concerned party.

“The MILF has already said that is all about 80 to 90 percent compliant with the peace agreement signed in 2014. I am happy with that. We cannot get everything... sometimes what we want may not be constitutional,” said Zubiri.

Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu welcomed the progress of the BBL to address the peace and order problem in Mindanao.

“This landmark legislation would surely bring developments in Mindanao as it offers solution to the peace and order concern there,” said Abu. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier threatened to step down should Congress fail to approve the BBL. With PNA

INC outreach program draws thousands THE Iglesia Ni Cristo continues to draw thousands to its ‘Lingap sa Mamamayan’ program, this time with 160,000 trooping to the Quirino Grandstand for the latest edition of the homegrown Church’s worldwide outreach program.

According to INC General Auditor Glicerio B. Santos Jr., the success of the Lingap sa Mamamayan was a testament to the vision of Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo, who had directed the Church to take an active role in combating poverty here and abroad.

“The Church has always been guided by its desire to use its resources in a way that benefits our communities,” said Santos.

“We believe it is the right thing to do, because no matter where we are from and what we believe in, we should remember that we are our brother’s keeper,” he added.

Participants of the Lingap were provided food parcels and free medical and dental services and free laboratory tests such as complete blood count, random blood sugar testing, blood typing, urinalysis, and pregnancy testing.

Alsoprovidedfreeofchargewerespecialized medical services dealing with internal medicine, pediatrics, and OB-gynecology.

Diagnostic equipment such as mobile x-rays, 2D echo, ultrasound, and electrocardiogram (ECG) machines were made available to those in the Quirino Grandstand. Two minihospitals, each equipped with an operating room, were also set up for minor surgical procedures such as warts and cysts removal, as well as circumcision.

Reading glasses were also distributed for free, as well as medicines for hypertension, diabetes, coughs and colds, fever, and antibiotics. In addition to this,

wheelchairs and quad canes were also given to those present. A Bible exposition rounded out the event.

Lingap sa Mamamayan activities have been organized and staged not just in the Philippines but in the United States, Canada, Northern and Southern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and key areas in the Middle East including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

The INC recently finished a series of Lingap sa Mamamayan activities in Africa, distributed food parcels in Kibera and Kawangware in Nairobi, Kenya last month. It also held similar projects in Blantyre and Samama Village Mangochi in Malawi in the same period. Church officials revealed that an estimated 33,000 people received assistance.

Bello denies P6.8-m extortion charge

By Vito Barcelo

MANILA FLOOD. Motorists brave the flood along Taft Avenue in Manila on Tuesday, July 17, 2018. Non-stop overnight downpour caused by southwest monsoon (habagat) has flooded many parts of Metro Manila. Norman Cruz

LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Tuesday denied allegation that he extorted P6.8 million from a recruitment agency and challenged to sue him in court, saying that his conscience is clear.

The Labor chief reacted to allegations filed against him and former Labor undersecretary Dominador Say before the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.

Kilusang Pagbabago National Movement for Change secretary general Monalie Dizon filed a complaint against Bello and Say, citing an affidavit from Azizzah Salim, owner of an employment agency which accused Bello and Say of extorting some P6.8 million from the company.

Dizon said that based on the 15-page complaint-affidavit filed by Salim, the owner of recruitment agency Azizza International gave money to the Labor

Public works project triggered Bote’s murder A RANKING Department of Public Works and Highways official said on Tuesday that a hotly-disputed public works project could be the motive behind the killing of General Tinio Mayor Ferdinand Bote.

The mayor reportedly won the project, which, according to Public Works officials, was prohibited under the law.

According to Hercules Carreon, project engineer of the Phase 1 of the more or less P120-million public works contract, at the the time of Bote’s death, the mayor was working to complete the project.

Carreon, who is assigned at the construction division of the regional office of the Department of Public Works in Central Luzon said the project was awarded to Bote in 2017.

He added that the said public works project was awarded to the mayor, who won the bid using a Triple BBB license identified with Cairo Builders owned by a certain Kent Natividad of Guimba, Nueva Ecija. Romeo Dizon

FDA to take drastic moves to ease ‘backlogs’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Food and Drug Administration is set to take drastic moves to address the backlog in the processing of various applications, including the so-called “nuisance applications,” it inherited from the past administration.

FDA Director-General Nela Charade Puno said she will issue a directive which will lead to the immediate disposition of all applications for food and drug products that have been pending with the FDA for a period of six months or more.

She said that starting September this year, applications for license to operate and product registration pending with the FDA for a period of six months or more will be approved provided they have fully complied with the requirements, including the payment of fees.

“This will clear the way for the implementation of a better system for filing and processing of applications and the claiming of approved permits and certificates of product registration [CPR],” said Puno, adding that the initiative is part of its efforts to create more efficient systems.

officials in exchange for Say’s reversal of the cancellation order made by Philippine Overseas Employment REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Administration on the recruitment COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS license of Azizza Salim.

Salim alleged that Say received ANNOUNCEMENT the money through Vanessa Josue President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has submitted but did not say if she was a POEA or to the Commission on Appointments (C.A.) for confirmation the ad interim appointment of a DoLE employee.

MR. ANTONIO TONGIO KHO JR., as Commissioner, In an interview, Bello challenged Commission on Elections. his accusers that if they have The public may submit any information, written evidence, they can file charges report, or sworn/notarized complaints or oppositions in thirty two (32) copies on the above appointment to before the Office of the Ombudsman the CA Secretariat, 6th Floor, PNB Financial Center, or any court and vowed to face them.

D. Macapagal Boulevard, Pasay City, Metro Manila.

“Don’t go to the media. Go to For the schedule of the public hearings, the the Department of Justice or the CA Secretariat can be reached through telephone numbers 834-2713, 831-1824, 831-0527, 832-9830, Ombudsman, file a complaint,’’ the 834-2706 and 551-1989.

DoLE chief said.

17 July 2018.

According to Dizon, Bello also refused to help the cause of an overseas Filipino worker identified HECTOR A. VILLACORTA only as “Mercy,” who was separated Secretary from her nine-month-old baby in Saudi Arabia.

(MS-JULY 18, 2018)

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Questions on why people don’t like Cha-Cha and federalism

ernment.

Recall that President Duterte had repeatedly vowed to step down once a federal system of government is installed.

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO THE recent poll survey showing that most Filipinos (67 percent) are against constitutional revision and the shift of the kind of government we now have, which is unitary form, to a federal system raises questions which President Duterte and his administration must bear in mind because the survey is supposed to be the sentiment of the people.

These questions are: First, why have a constitutional convention at this point in time with so many seemingly unsolvable problems facing the country? Second, will Charter change result in better life for Filipinos? Third, why change the system of government into federalism? Will federalism result in the betterment of 106 million Filipinos? And lastly, will a federal form of government solve poverty?

Frankly, I am no expert on federalism, much less one of those self-proclaimed federalists who seem to know all the answers.

But while I am all for constitutional revision because I believe the fundamental law of the land is not cast in stone, I doubt it very much if this is the time for charter change. Besides, I believe the 1987 charter was a reactionary charter against the Marcos dictatorship.

Santa Banana, if some members of Congress have not read the proposed Federal system of government that the Duterte-assigned Consultative Commission framed to change the system of government we now have, how much less the people who are supposed to ratify it?

The reaction of those surveyed against Charter change and the push for a shift of the form of government from a unitary to a federal form was to be expected. First, because they don’t know what it is, and more importantly, they have their own problems to cope with like where the next meal will come from.

But what I know is that the findings of the survey could well be a referendum of the Duterte administration that has been pushing for Charter change, and a shift to a federal system of gov-

*** I don’t know if Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. is speaking for the President when he said that media people are conniving with “oligarchs” to attack President Duterte.

Frankly, I don’t know why Evasco said it, and whether or not it’s true that media people from newspapers and from broadcast (radio and television) are guilty of such, but I suspect being a secretary of the Cabinet, Evasco must have heard the same comment from the President and members of the Cabinet that so-called “oligarchs” are conniving with media to attack the President.

If it’s the feeling of President Duterte and members of the Cabinet that there is indeed connivance or a conspiracy between media people and oligarchs to hit the President, why doesn’t Evasco look at the many Duterte defenders and apologists in the opinion pages of newspapers who sing poems and praises for the President and his administration?

However, if Evasco were not speaking for the President nor the administration, then he should just keep his big mouth shut because he does not know what he is talking about. *** I don’t really know what the minions of president Duterte means when they said that he will speak from the heart during his Sona or State of the Nation Address this coming July 23.

If the President will indeed speak from his heart, will he really tell the nation that he has not quite delivered all the promises he announced when he became President, like ending the drug menace soon enough, criminality and corruption? Will he explain why his promise to end “endo” or contractualization has not come about? In fact, government has become the greatest offender of contractualization.

Will the President say that there’s an environment of lawlessness and violence and killings and more killings of those involved in the illegal drugs and

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

We will not be pushed around

A

DMINISTRATION officials like to point to the strong mandate that President Rodrigo Duterte won in the last election as a way of claiming that most Filipinos support his advocacies—such as his tough stance on crime and his support for a federal system of government.

There are several pitfalls in associating Mr. Duterte’s election win in 2016 and his policies, of course.

First, despite his landslide victory, Mr. Duterte was not a majority president by a long shot, winning only 39 percent of the vote. This means that while a large plurality supported the causes he promoted during the presidential campaign, by no means did a majority support him or those advocacies.

Second, not all of his policies today were clearly spelled out during the campaign.

For example, Mr. Duterte famously said during his campaign that he would take a jetski to the Spratly islands that China now occupies and plant the Filipino flag and tell the Chinese to choose between fistcuffs and guns.

Even then, candidate Duterte rejected war against China as suicide.

“What am I, stupid? We’d all get killed,” he said at the time in Filipino.

But he was clearly portraying himself as being more assertive against China’s claims.

In April 2016, he said if he were elected president, he’d make sure the UN arbitral tribunal votes in favor of the Philippine claim on the Spratlys, and refuse to honor any adverse decision.

A bare few months later, as President, Mr. Duterte did the very opposite of what he said and refused to use the tribunal’s favorable decision as leverage against Beijing.

Instead, he launched a policy of appeasement with the Chinese in the hopes of garnering increased investments and loans and relegated more contentious issues such as Philippine sovereignty to bilateral talks that have been long on platitudes and short on results.

Worse, in the face of continued Chinese militarization, Mr. Duterte’s spokesman became an apologist for the Chinese, defending the Chinese Coast Guard for confiscating the catch of Filipino fishermen near the Scarborough Shoal, a territory that is well within the Philippines exclusive economic zone.

Now the chickens have come home to roost.

The latest Social Weather Stations

survey show that eight out of 10 Filipinos disapprove of the way Mr. Duterte’s administration is managing the country’s territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea. The survey of 1,200 adults interviewed from June 27 to 30 showed that 81 percent said it was not right for the administration “to leave China alone with its infrastructure and military presence in the claimed territories.”

Eighty percent also believed the country should improve its defense in the disputed territories and strengthen its military capabilities, particularly in the Navy.

The results of the SWS survey came days after the proliferation of satirical banners in parts of Metro Manila, implying the Philippines has become a province of China, a harsh indictment indeed of a policy Mr. Duterte never articulated when he was running for office.

We have no issue with pursuing amicable ties with the Chinese, as long as we do so as true friends and equals.

We have no problem with rapprochement—but we certainly do not want to pursue this from a prone position.

Mr. Duterte must have read this correctly when he was still a candidate, and should begin acting like he still does now that he is President. To paraphrase one articulate world leader, Filipinos may be polite and reasonable, but we will not be pushed around.

Turn to A5

Terror on city streets suffer daily breakdowns because of mismanagement and corruption. To get to work and bring their children to school, Filipinos are buying cars even without a garage to keep them. Alternate and side ALEJANDRO streets are being used by vehicle ownDEL ROSARIO ers as parking spaces. The rich and even THERE is a new terror on our city some middle class Filipinos buy at least streets. But this a welcome kind of ter- two cars to get around the number codror. These are the vehicle- towing trucks ing scheme to ease traffic. Instead, this of the Manila Metropolitan Develop- has only added to the volume of vehicles ment Authority. Going around main on the road.

Then there is the lack of urban planning roads and side streets of the metropolis, the MMDA clearing operations haul in Metro Manila and the non-enforcean average of 100 vehicles five days a ment of rules. Note how crowd-drawing week. The vehicle towers may be the malls—SM, Robinsons, etc—are lobane of car owners who use the streets cated right along main streets with bus for parking but it’s a welcome move for and jeepney stops right in front of these business establishments. Every time the ordinary commuters.

If there is a slight easing of traffic in these public utility vehicles stop in front Metro Manila, this can be attributed to of the mall, traffic comes to a standstill.

This is particularly the MMDA’s “park illegally, get no true on Sta. Mesa, mercy” policy since now named Ramon MMDA chairman Magsaysay boulevard, and the shopDanilo Lim, a forLooking for a place ping malls on Edsa mer army general, to park? near the SSS and took over the govManuel Morato ernment agency. street.

We said “slight” because road works Why these shopbeing done by the Department of Public ping malls are granted building permits Works and Highways under its “Build, along major thoroughfares is the subject Build, Build” program have added to the of speculation that bribes have been paid misery of motorists. These projects in- to certain city government officials. In clude road widening and the construction the United States and Europe, shopping of several elevated highways. In the long malls where Macy’s department stores, term, they should bring relief to motorists Ikea furniture, etc. are located in areas and commuters if and when completed. accessible to but far from the main road.

Underground and outdoor parking for Well, as they say “no pain, no gain.”

The impounding lot for towed vehi- customers is always a component of any cles in Marikina looks like a big parking shopping complex.

In London, cars are only allowed area. To retrieve illegally parked vehicles, owners have to pay from P1,500 to P8,700 to enter the central business district if the motorists pay a certain depending on the size of the vehicle.

Looking at the big picture, Metro Ma- amount. Parking near or in the vicinnila’s monster traffic can be attributed to ity of the shopping areas is a no-no. several factors. Foremost is the lack of an Although taxis and those ubiquitous efficient public railway system. The Met- red double-decker buses are allowed ro Rail Transit and the Light Rail Transit Turn to A5

BACK CHANNEL

Draft charter: The good and bad VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ THE best I can say about the draft Constitution of 2019-2020 is that it institutionalizes the party system and bans political dynasties.

No parents, no husbands or wives, and no children can succeed incumbents.

“The Federal Republic shall ensure the development and strengthening

of political parties as mechanisms of citizen representation and democratic governance,” says Section 4 Article V of the draft charter. Their campaigns will be funded by a socalled Democracy Fund funded by citizens’ contribution not exceeding P100,000 each.

Section 7 of same Article V adds: The Federal Republic shall ensure strong and cohesive political parties. (a) Members of any political party elected to public office are prohibited from changing political parties within their term of office. (b) Candidates and officials of any political party are prohibited from

changing political party two (2) years after the election and two (2) years before the next election.

Section 8 same article says: (a) A political dynasty exists when a family whose members are related up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, whether such relations are legitimate, illegitimate, half, or full blood, maintains or is capable of maintaining political control by succession or by simultaneously running for or holding elective positions. (b) No person related to an incumbent elective official within the second civil degree of consanguinity or Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandard.net

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018

Needed: More ‘lingaps’ than ‘banats’ CROSSROADS

JONATHAN A. DE LA CRUZ IT’S a pity that a day after that uplifting, unifying win of Senator Manny Pacquiao in Kuala Lumpur we had more “banats”—tirades and negative vibes—rather than optimistic ones dominating the news.

Save for the inside page coverage and intermittent mention over radio and TV of the Iglesia ni Cristo antipoverty operation Lingap Laban sa Kahirapan, we went through the day somehow downed by the mainstream media’s minding of the state of our affairs. SAYANG. For if truth be said, there are more positive things happening than the negative rantings of those who should have known better. Take the INC’s Lingap which has metamorphosed from an annual undertaking into a semi-annual, even a quarterly endeavor. Last Sunday’s event at the Rizal Park set a record of sorts with more than 100,000 people from all walks of life and all denominations receiving dental and medical services and, yes, bags of goodies generously provided by the INC and its members. As INC General Auditor Glicerio Santos, Sr. noted, the Lingap Project “is part of the Church’s resolve to do something concrete to combat poverty here and around the world.” This is no small matter and no small gesture.

The project has had take-offs in other countries organized by church members in the United States, Canada, Northern and Southern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asean, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and even key areas in the Middle East. It has attracted a lot of participants that it has not escaped the attention even of the

most snooty politicians and leaders in many of these countries. One Church member intimated to me that in Guam, for example, the contenders for political positions have tried to ingratiate themselves to members by donating anonymously to the undertaking. Even in the United States where preparations for the mid-term November elections are in high gear, the interest among political leaders and key corporate sponsors have been quite pronounced. But as I understand it, the INC has politely refused these entreaties and relied on their members to foot the bill for these operations, so to speak.

And, in their own quiet ways, the members’ efforts have been generously rewarded. The church has apparently been growing by leaps and bounds and has kept its membership intact. In the case of the Lingap Project, the same has been recognized quite emphatically by various award giving institutions.

Sometime back, the Lingap with its Worldwide Walk Against Poverty garnered three Guinness World Records, namely, the biggest charity walk in a single location attended by 236,171 INC members at the Roxas Boulevard; the making of the largest picture mosaic by 9,200 members; and the making of the largest human sentence with 23,235 participants.

In addition to Lingap, I am told that the church has been continuously extending assistance not only to its members but to other nonmembers as well in many communities across the country. Quite apart from the one-day activities such as the latest in Rizal Park, the church has been providing livelihood assistance and assistance during calamities in addition to educational and health services through its schools and medical centers.

Of course, other religious groups have been engaged in such antipoverty projects all along. The Se-

gunda Mana project of Caritas Manila is one such example. We are advised that each diocese has similar projects in addition to regular dental and medical missions such as the Lingap. I know of one parish which has been able to get a donated land in Rizal and transformed it into an organic farming center where out-of-school youth can train and gain not just employment but self-respect. The Salesian Fathers of Don Bosco are doing what they can do best: skills and values training in their own schools and centers. Other denominations have been engaged in sports and cultural endeavors apart from regular feeding programs, dental and medical services.

Why am I recalling all of these undertakings at this time? Because as I noted earlier, we have been so mired in our highly toxic politicking which has polluted the entire body politic including the churches, business, civic and other sectors that we have forgotten to look at ourselves in a positive light. We have been so consumed by a ‘power-on-earth, dog-eat-dog’ mindset we have failed to recognize the value of uniting for a common goal, a vision of a society we can all have a part in and we can be proud of. It is as if we have condemned ourselves to bringing each other down instead of lifting each other up.

We have been trying, as it were, to fight the battles of the past forgetting to move forward and look up to a common future. As other countries and peoples struggle to move up together as one society full of hope and compassion for each other, we have tried our level best to damn each other and struggle hard to put one over the other. It is a curse we have to take off our body politic. It is a curse we have to get out of our system if we ever hope to gain ground and move forward. This folly has got to end and fast. Let’s have more Lingaps than Banats in ourselves and in our system.

capital.

There is the Piccadilly stop for the cluster of West End theaters. For shopping, one has to take either the double decker bus or underground train for Oxford Circus. There is a train and bus for the business and banking district near the Tower of London.

In Japan and Europe, trains, buses and trams are always on schedule you

can set your watches by their arrival and departure.

Here, our two public rail transport systems suffer daily breakdowns. Commuters have to give themselves a twohour lead time get to their place of work.

Resilient Filipinos grumble but manage to cope with the most abysmal of living conditions created by incompetent country managers.

Terror...

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to ply CBD areas, London’s famous underground trains called The Tube also make stops at strategic commuter stations. As someone who had lived in London and worked in the Philippine Embassy there for four years, I got to know all the stops and trains to take to travel around. There were times I would even give directions to the natives, Brits who live outside the

Draft...

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affinity, as described above, can run for the same position in the immediately following election. (c) Persons related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, as described above, are prohibited from running simultaneously for more than one national and one regional or local position.

However, in the event that two or more members of the same family are running, the member who shall be allowed to be a candidate shall be determined by the drawing of lots.

My biggest concern about the draft charter is that it seeks to establish a federal system of government with 18 independent states under a single federal republic.

I blame the abolition of the twoparty system of 1935 to 1986 for the rampant graft and incompetence in all levels of government today.

Under the rule of the Nacionalista Party and the Liberal Party, the aim of each party was control of government. To control government, each party sought to control the Senate, and from there, control of the presidency. Our presidents used to come from the Senate.

To control the Senate, each party sought to field the best and brightest of men and women from the major regions. This policy ensured competence and a certain level of adherence to time honored values like integrity and honesty.

Thus, we had Arturo Tolentino, Jovito Salonga, Ambrosio Padilla, Gil Puyat, Raul Manglapus, and Tecla San Andres Ziga from Metro Manila and Rizal, for instance; Jose W. Diokno, Lorenzo Sumulong, and Lorenzo Tañada from Southern Luzon; Ferdinand Marcos and Camilo Osias from northern Luzon; Benigno S. Aquino Jr., Juan Liwag, and Jose Roy from Central Luzon; Sergio Osmeña, Gerardo Roxas and Rodolfo Ganzon

from the Visayas; and Emmanuel Pelaez and Alejandro Almendras from Mindanao. Certainly, these senators were better than our present crop of senators today.

Many of these senators were lawyers (law it seems was the best preparation for politics and governance).

The lawyers either topped their law class or were bar topnotchers—Tolentino (1934), Diokno (1944), Marcos (1939), and Pelaez (1938).

Before 1987, whenever the president of the Philippines was a lawyer, he was usually a bar topnotcher—Manuel Quezon (1903), Manuel Roxas (1913), Diosdado Macapagal (1936), Ferdinand Marcos (1939), Jose Laurel (1915), Elpidio Quirino (1915), Sergio Osmeña (1903), Carlos Garcia (1923), and Tolentino (duly elected vice president, 1986).

This dominance of bar topnotchers and therefore competent presidents was because of the two-party system and the parties’ policy of choosing only the best and brightest for national positions. No wonder, during the reign of bar topnotcher-presidents, the Philippines was the second richest country in Asia, after Japan.

One other benefit of the two-party system: Presidential elections were funded by the parties and relied less on vested business interests. The two-party system somehow ensured clean elections since each election return had to be signed by a representative of each of the two parties before it could be tallied.

Cory Aquino, whose election as snap election president in 1986, has never established the two-party system.

The result was gross incompetence and massive corruption.

Proof: In the last 30 years, in the entire Asian continent, only the Philippines failed to reduce its poverty substantially. In 1987, at least 25 million Filipinos were mired in poverty.

Today, 25 million Filipinos are still

mired in poverty.

The Philippines has one of the worst income inequality ratios in the world. The 20 richest Filipinos account for 60 percent for the economy’s output. In countries with such bad ratios and where the masses are suffering and dispossessed, daily rioting should be a natural occurrence.

According to the Corruption Perception Index, the Philippines ranked 111th (No. 1 being the cleanest) among 180 countries surveyed. This is PH’s lowest ranking in five years.

Its score is 34 out of a possible 100.

The CPI ranks countries and territories based on their “perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people.”

Since corruption became such a huge business (easily a third of the national budget is stolen yearly; the budget is P3.767 trillion, so corruption is a P1.1-trillion business). Only 80 political families, the dynasties, help themselves to it, to the detriment of 105 million Filipinos.

Why the corruption? Since the parties could not fund their presidential candidates, would-be presidents had to rely on donors (the tycoons and taipans) and/or creating all kinds of scams (such as no driver’s licenses and no license plates, Dengvaxia, bogus health clinics, and infra projects awarded to favored corporations which in turn donated campaign money).

Why the incompetence? Rich candidates and candidates with no preparation for the presidency but are awesomely popular ran and won.

Why am I against having 18 federal states?

Well, today, you have only one president as a tyrant. Imagine having 18 tyrants, with each tyrant belonging to a dynasty.

Wow! biznewsasia@gmail.com

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Duterte proven right SO I SEE

strengthen our Asian alliances.

*** Just as we rejoice over the return of world champion Manny Pacquiao back LITO to boxing greatness by his spectacular BANAYO performance in Kuala Lumpur, I was so bowled over by the jubilation across WATCHING the reports from the news France when they won the FIFA World agencies here in Europe about the Cup last Sunday.

Trump-Putin tete-a-tete in Helsinki, Even in the small towns of Alsace, on how the president of the reputedly everybody was dancing and prancing most powerful country practically went in the streets. Football fever is really so over his head and kowtowed to Russian hot in Europe.

President Vladimir Putin, convinced me The French and Croatian presidents all the more that our president’s deci- flew to Russia to witness the championsion to re-direct our foreign policy to ship game and give moral support to their one of true independence is right as it respective national teams. Earlier, the was prescient.

French and Belgian leaders also cheered The foreign minister of the Federal their players during the semifinals.

Republic of Germany, Mr. Heiko Maas French coach Didier Deschamps must rued Trump’s statements by saying that be particularly triumphal. He played “we can no longer completely rely on for France when it won its first crown the White House.” in 1998, and 20 He further sugyears later he gests that Germacoached a young ny, a staunch US and relatively inally which hosts experienced team It should dawn upon military bases to their second even, “must read- us all that it’s time to World Cup. just our partnership think and act like Asians Across the with the US.” globe, Senator “The first clear and not like little brown Manny Pacquiao consequence can Americans. had not just a only be that we knockout victory. need to align ourHe was honored selves more closely by the presence of with Europe,” said two heads of state —Duterte and the duFM Maas. It is the same Europe that rable comeback “kid,” Mahathir.

Trump now disdains and undermines.

Maybe the good senator should now Many Filipinos have gotten so used heed President Duterte’s advice that it’s to dependence on the US of A that time to hang his gloves and be a full they were quite skeptical about Presi- time public servant. dent Duterte’s immediate declarations of a truly independent foreign policy. *** They recoiled when he bad-mouthed The latest public opinion surveys outgoing US President Barack Obama show how deeply the people trust the after the latter criticized his war on President. I myself was surprised at the drugs. They warned him about align- pre-Catholic “blasphemy” result from ing our country closer to China, fear- Pulse Asia. I thought that the economic ful about possible repercussions from hiccups, particularly rice and oil prices, the US. would take a greater toll.

Now it should dawn upon us all that Despite inflation, despite other issues it’s time to think and act like Asians and real and concocted thrown at him, Dunot like little brown Americans. Just as terte is holding fast. the EU—from Macron to Merkel—is Senator Panfilo Lacson may be right beginning to realize that the US under —that Duterte’s cussing is read as sinTrump can no longer be trusted as a cerity by the people. true and genuine friend, we too should Nagpapakatotoo.

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local officials?

I know the President will enumerate what administration departments have done for the people. Every administration department had submitted to him their achievements and accomplishments. That’s what is called d’riguer.

But, Santa Banana, that’s not the true state of the nation. *** Sometime ago, I wrote that there’s need for the Commission on Audit and the Ombudsman to take a deeper look what the COA had said were violations of the law when some lawyers of the Government Corporate Counsel were getting excessive allowances from goverment-owned and/or -controlled corporations or GOCCs they were assigned to in violation of the law that these allowances should not exceed 50 percent of the annual salaries these lawyers get from government.

There were also reports coming from COA that Solicitor General Jose Calida and some lawyers in his office also have excessive allowances.

I had written on the need for the Ombudsman to dig deeper into this kind of anomaly because excessive allowances given to lawyers who are assigned by the corporate counsel to GOCCs could had been bribed, and the amount could even reach like billions of pesos.

Obviously, the Ombudsman thinks this is a petty crime. But, if these excessive allowances include the SolGen and lawyers of the government corporate counsel, it’s an anomaly just the same and must be looked into.

My gulay, if the SolGen is involved in this kind of anomaly, the fight against government corruption becomes meaningless.

Further inquiry into this kind of anomaly could show big cans of worms awaiting to be opened. If Malacañang doesn’t like to look into these anomalies, Congress should if the Ombudsman will not.

Santa Banana, I honestly believed that there’s a lot of bribery going on resulting in excessive allowances. *** The practice of the Philippine National Police in providing bodyguards to VIPs and members of Congress, the senators and members of the House of Representatives must be looked into in the wake of killings and more killings

amounting to a climate of impunity now prevailing in the country.

Santa Banana, why should senators and members of the House be provided with bodyguards when in effect, it’s us taxpayers who are paying for them? I am sure members of Congress can pay for their own bodyguards.

The point I would like to emphasize here is that every citizen needs police protection and the more ent, the Senate President, or the Speaker of the House, and even the Chief Justice of Supreme Court should not be given bodyguards. They need them for protection since they are in the line of succession.

The point I am driving at is that the PNP needs to review this practice of providing bodyguards to every member of Congress, which to me, consequently results in less protection by the police for ordinary mortals like me.

This is something that the President as the “top cop” of the country should also look into since the number of policemen cannot guarantee overall protection of the citizenry. *** Cotabato City the second safest city in the Philippines?

I don’t know who said it is. But, what I know is that many of the former residents of Cotabato City are afraid to go home because of reports of criminality, especially kidnapping.

Cotabato now is a far cry from the Cotabato City I knew when the Oblates asked me and my late good friend, Rudy Tupas, to edit the Mindanao Cross, which was then a weekly newspaper. Now, it’s daily with some 100,000 copies in circulations all over Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.

Cotabato City brings pleasant memories to me because that’s where I met my wife. And it is where I first got my feet in real journalism which has become my calling.

My gulay, there was even a time when kidnappers would just knock on our door to make you know that you are kidnapped for ransom.

Santa Banana, Cotabato City the second safest city nationwide? They must be kidding, since I know only too well that even long-time residents in that city do not like to go home. www.emiljurado.com

News

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

CoA calls GSIS heed to PTV-4 ad contract THE Commission on Audit has called the attention of the Government Service Insurance System to a P50.155-million advertisement contract with the government’s People’s Television Network Inc. or PTV-4.

In a 2017 audit report, CoA questioned the exchange deal between the GSIS and PTV-4 to cover P47.02 million worth of unremitted premium and loan payments deducted from the wages of employees of PTV-4 in 2015 under the Aquino administration.

“The payment through exchange deal arrangement for media services with People’s Television Network Inc. in calendar year 2017 totaling to P50.155 million did not add value to GSIS members, non-responsive to the exigencies of the GSIS mandate, and can be dispensed [with] without loss or damage to the System, hence, considered unnecessary,” it read.

Under a memorandum of agreement, PTV-4 would provide the airing of fivesecond and 30-second infomercials and coverage of special events of the GSIS. “The cost of media services for calendar years 2016 and 2017 amounted to P30.782 million and P19.373 million, respectively, or a total P50.155 million, thus, exhausting the balance covered by the MoA,” CoA said.

Such infomercials were considered an “unnecessary expenditure” under CoA Circular No. 2012-003 issued on Oct. 29, 2012, CoA said, citing PTV-4’s poor signal reception in Metro Manila and far-flung provinces.

The “GSIS Members’ Hour” aired on PTV-4 was already enough as an information tool to update the members.

“The additional exposures covered by the latest MoA were unnecessary since the GSIS required no introduction since it has been in existence years ago and membership to the GSIS is compulsory for all government employees receiving compensation,” the report said.

“We further noted that the said informercials and television ad placements are merely stating that the program is sponsored by GSIS, hence, it did not add value to GSIS members,” it added.

Even if there were no actual cash outlays from the GSIS, the media services rendered were charges against the receivable account “which could just have been collected and added” to the funds of the GSIS, CoA said.

“We reiterated our recommendations and Management agreed to limit infomercials to those that add value to GSIS members... We further recommend that Management require PTNI to pay the premiums and loan amortizations equivalent to the exchange deal arrangement,” its report read. Rio N. Araja

Police nab 2 Japanese AUTHORITIES are coordinating with the International Police in Tokyo following the arrest of two Japanese nationals in connection with possession of counterfeit US dollars and for trying to bribe policemen in Makati City.

Southern Police District director Tomas Apolinario Jr. identified the suspects as Noa Shimegi, 28, and Yoshitaka Yamamoto, 48, both billeted at Hop-In Hotel along Makati Avenue, Makati City.

“Communication wil be made with the International Police Manila to coordinate with Interpol Tokyo to provide information on the background and any derogatory record of the two arrested Japanese nationals,” said Apolinario.

He added the Japanese and US embassies, as well as the Bureau of Immigration wil be informed of the incident.

Apolinario said the case stemmed from the complaint of Amalia Yamat, a cashier of Emelda Money Exchange at Hidalgo Tower, Rockwell Center in Barangay Poblacion, Makati City.

The authorities responded following a telephone call from Imelda Money Changer seeking police assistance regarding the suspect Shimegi who tried to exchange 10 pieces of counterfeit $100 US dollars.

“Accordingly, Ms. Yamat, suspected that the currency notes were fake and sought assistance from Maybank who also confirmed that the money was counterfeit,” said Apolinario.

Shimegi claimed that an Asian-looking man approached him outside his hotel and offered to sell his dollars for a much lower price, unknowing that the dollars were counterfeit.

Police said Shimegi’s companion Yamamoto was also arrested for trying to bribe the apprehending officers in the amound of P50,000 in exchange for the release and the non-filing of a criminal case against his friend. Joel E. Zurbano

Employees push tenure security

PROMINENT PUSHER. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency presents to media the influential but unidentified drug pusher arrested in a buy- bust operation in Tandang Sora corner Visayas in Quezon City during which 500 grams of shabu worth P2.5 million were seized. Photo shows PDEA Special Enforcement Service officer Levi Ortiz fielding media questions Tuesday at the PDEA office in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

LTO must explain P438-m ‘abandoned’ wheel project T

By Rio N. Araja

HE Land Transportation Office has a lot of explaining to do for its P438-million motor vehicle inspection system project during the Arroyo administration, according to the Commission on Audit.

In a 2017 audit report for the Road Board on the motor vehicle user’s charge, CoA said 11 sets of MVIS equipment worth P209.4 million purchased in 2008 and 2009 were abandoned and left idle to deteriorate, uninstalled and partially used that resulted in “tantamount wastage of government resources.”

State auditors told LTO to identify those responsible in such negligence and file charges against them.

“We recommended that LTO management conduct an investigation to identify the persons liable for the ineffective im-

plementation of the MVIS project, which resulted in the wastage of government funds on the non-utilization of the MVIS equipment delivered in 2008 and 2009, and file the appropriate legal actions against erring personnel/persons, as warranted,” the report read.

The MVIS project was designed to ensure all vehicles were compliant with the emission standards set under the Clean Air Act. CoA said private emission testing centers enjoyed brisk business on the mandatory emission test fees that

should have gone to the government had LTO been able to implement the MVIS project nationwide.

Ten years after the equipment procurement, the project failed to reach its full potential, CoA said.

“The project’s objectives of improved air quality and reduced traffic accidents were not achieved, thereby, depriving road users of greater vehicle reliability and reduced running costs and resulting in lost income and wastage of government funds expended for the project caused by the non-utilization of the MVIS equipment to date,” it added.

The Road Board continued to ignore CoA’s previous warnings.

In its recent audit report, CoA told LTO to recover its investments for the MVIS equipment by seeking funds for the replacement of obsolete or deteriorating equipment.

Quake drill in Metro set this week

DU30 signs E-NIPAS Law PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte hasa signed Republic Act 11038, the ENIPAS Act of 2018, into law, which adopts strong amendatory measures to the 24-year-old National Integrated Protected Area Systems Act. “We laud the timely passage of the E-NIPAS Act, as it will enhance the conservation efforts undertaken of our unique but vastly threatened biodiversity and ecosystems including our marine habitats,” said Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president for Oceana Philippines.

The passage of the E-NIPAS Act provides a national legislation for all protected areas to ensure their ecological integrity.

This includes the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, one of the largest marine protected areas in the Philippines and declared as a protected seascape through a Presidential Proclamation in 1998.

The E-NIPAS Act also covers the Philippine Rise Marine Resource Reserve, which was recently declared as a protected area with strict protection zones by Duterte.

Salient provisions of the Act include the provision for scientific and technical support for biodiversity conservation; delineation and demarcation of boundaries; deputation of support especially on enforcement to the Protected Area Superintendent; and regular reporting on the status of the Integrated Protected Area Fund and allocating 75 percent of all revenues raised to the Protected Area Management Board.

It also prohibits the use and possession of destructive fishing gears within the protected seascape.

The E-NIPAS Act also expands the mandates of the Department of Justice to appoint special prosecutors handling cases specifically related to protected areas, and assist in the training of wardens and rangers in arrests and criminal procedures.

The principal authors of the law point out the rationale of biodiversity conservation behind the enactment of the E-NIPAS Act.

COTABATO CITY—Old employees of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao want their constitutional right-to-security-of-tenure upheld, amid imminent takeover by a new administration to run a Bangsamoro Government in the ARMM. A group of ARMM employees said they rushed to Manila on Wednesday to assert their collective rights under the equal-protection clause of the 1987 Constitution, before the marathon hearings of the Bicameral Committee Conference, now almost done on the Bangsamoro Basic Law in ARMM. Once enacted by Congress, the law may be signed into law in time for the Third State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte on July 23.

Irene Fernandez Gonzales, a former information officer of the ARMM, said she accompanied ARMM Cultural Heritage Director Marites Maguindra in Manila to talk to every member of the bicameral committee on the welfare of permanent employees.

“The affected ARMM permanent employees are also stakeholders in the Bangsamoro Region, as much as those working in the basic social services sector, such as: Education, health and social welfare,” Maguindra said, reading a manifesto signed

by ARMM employees during a Flag Ceremony on Monday.

Pending its passage into law, legislators have placed a protective provision on the BBL-ARMM Bill, ensuring the retention of current permanent employees, although applicable only to those working under the three social service cluster departments: Education, Health and Social Welfare and Development.

The group of Maguindra said they wanted to articulate their colleagues’ constitutional right-to-equal-protection-of-law, particularly those representing the economic, infrastructure and governance clusters of the Executive and Legislative Branches of the ARMM Government.

Maguindra said the employees particularly wanted to assert their constitutional right to security of tenure, under Article III (Bill of Rights) Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, and as provided for under Republic Act 6656 (An Act to Protect the Security of Tenure of Civil Service Officers and Employees in Implementation of Reorganization). Nash B. Maulana

By Joel E. Zurbano

PANTAWID PASADA. LTFRB distributes Pantawid Pasada Cards to legitimate franchise holders. In photo, a legitimate franchise holder shows the Pantawid Pasada Card during the distribution Tuesday. Manny Palmero

House vows more quality bills

By Maricel V. Cruz THE House of Representatives is keen on passing “more quality legislation” aimed at uplifting the socioeconomic condition of the people as Congress’ Third Regular Session opens on July 23, in time for President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address.

House Deputy Speaker and Cebu City Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia said the 17th Congress under Speaker Pataleon Alvarez had productive first and second regular sessions where 120 measures were passed.

“We expect that number to increase further as we have already ratified a few bicameral conference committee reports and there are several measures that remain unacted on by bicameral conference committees,” Garcia said.

Garcia added several of the priority measures had been identified by the administration in the common legislative agenda as agreed on by the Legislative Executive Development

Advisory Committee.

“There are a few more measures in this list that are still pending before the respective House committees and we are optimistic we could fulfill our commitment to approve these during the Third Regular Session.

There could be some additional items in our legislative agenda that may be identified after the President’s Sona,” Garcia said.

One of the last measures the House approved before adjourning sine die last May 30 was the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law. “The approval of BBL is an affirmation of our support to the President who believes the legislation is crucial to securing lasting peace in Mindanao which is now facing threats from Islamist extremists. The BBL bill is currently under deliberation by the bicameral conference committee and we expect to ratify it by July 23 to be presented to President Duterte on the same day for his signature,” Garcia added.

RAIN or shine, the metro-wide earthquake drill set this week will push through, according to the Metro Manila Development Authority.

MMDA general manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said the Shake Drill would happen this week amid the continued inclement weather brought by the monsoon rain enhanced by tropical depression “Henry.”

He said staging the drill on a rainy day would also give the agency and the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council a chance to prepare for worst-case scenarios.

“We can do the shake drill the easiest way possible but what if an earthquake happens on a critical time? This way we can prepare for the worst case possible,” Garcia said.

Garcia also warned that the shake drill, aimed to prepare the public in case the Big One strikes, could cause traffic gridlock in the metropolis.

“We are anticipating that the drill will affect the flow of traffic in the metropolis,” he said.

The shake drill will involve staging of different scenarios, conducted by local government units, private institutions, schools and establishments, in different parts of the metropolis.

Telecommunication networks will broadcast the drill through emergency cell broadcast and SMS messages to its subscribers on the actual day.

Companies, churches, schools, and institutions are urged to sound their own alerts or bells while radio stations will air an alert to signal the start of the drill.

The MMDA will come into play by mobilizing personnel to designated emergency operations centers in four quadrants in the metropolis.

“Once they hear the alarm, motorists who would like to participate in the drill can stop for a minute,” said Garcia.

Sports

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Lanterns surprise Patriots ANGELES CITY—Pampanga got a big boost when one of its best products showed in its home game against Parañaque.

PBA star Jayson Castro, a native of Bacolor, led the Cabalens in cheering the Lanterns, who came away with an inspiring 82-79 triumph over the erstwhile unbeaten Parañaque Patriots-F2 Logistics in the MPBL Datu Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Arena here.

Earlier, Zamboanga outlasted Marikina, 87-80, as ex-pro Reed Juntilla led the way with 19 points and carried the Family’s Brand Sardines-backed Valientes to their second win in four games.

It was the third straight loss for the Shoemasters since winning their debut game on June 12. They’ve dropped their assignments to the Muntinlupa CagersAngelis Resort, the Imus Bandera-GLC Truck and Equipment and the latest one against the Valientes.

Spieth seeks to emulate Harrington CARNOUSTIE—Jordan Spieth feels he is back in the groove and capable of becoming the first player since Irishman Padraig Harrington in 2007/08 to win back to back Opens.

The 24-year-old and a swathe of his fellow young Americans threatening to dominate the future of the sport will also have a returning Tiger Woods.

The man who dominated the past until personal and physical problems intervened to bring that to a juddering halt is back at the Open for the first time since he missed the cut in 2015.

Spieth has not won since his Open success last July but he believes his game is back in place for the rigours of Carnoustie when battle commences on Thursday, having taken some time out to relax.

“I had the itch to get back to it after a couple of weeks of not really working and it was nice to kind of start from scratch,” Spieth said at a press conference on Monday.

“I feel like I’m in a position now with every part of my game, I attacked the places that really needed some strong work.

“That combination with an Open Championship, the way it needs to be played, I think, is a really good spot for me to kickback into shape.”

Fellow young Turks such as PGA Champion Justin Thomas, Masters champion Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka, who defended his US Open title last month, will be fancying their chances.

Compatriot Rickie Fowler could take issue with being left out of their club given he is also under 30 at 29— the only problem being he has developed a reputation for filling the minor places in the majors.

The return of Woods, who inspired many of the 20-something Americans to take up the sport, will be intriguing to see if the sea air awakens the genius in him. AFP

Jordan Spieth

TABLE TENNIS MEET. Camarines

Sur (1st District) Rep. Rolando Gutierrez Andaya Jr. (center), table tennis enthusiast and top supporter of the sport in the Bicol region, is shown with Philippine Table Tennis Federation President Ting Ledesma (second from right) after the awarding ceremony of the 2018 Southeast Asia Table Tennis Association Junior Cadet Championship held recently at Robinsons Place in Naga City, Camarines Sur. With them are PTTF Region 5 Representative Boyet Mariano (left) and Tet Deniega of PTTFI Manila main office.

But the Valientes’ performance was overshadowed by the Lanterns’ inspiring showing at home.

Michael Juico scored the most points produced by any player in a game in the two-season history of the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league, while Juneric Baloria put one over his former squad in a much-awaited game which featured two teams in a bitter tug-of-war on two key players during the off season.

Juico, plucked from GlobalPort in the PBA days before the start of the new MPBL season, poured in a personal-high 35 points, shattering the previous record of 33 set by Yves Sazon during opening night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Baloria, the star player who previously saw action for the Patriots last season but decided to transfer to the Lanterns, scattered 20 points and got the better end of his match up with his former squad.

11 dead in Asiad crackdown

J

AKARTA—Indonesian police have shot and killed 11 suspected small-time criminals and wounded dozens more in a crackdown before it hosts the Asian Games next month, authorities said Tuesday.

Some 52 suspects have been shot after resisting arrest in the capital Jakarta since the start of July, with 11 dying of their wounds, police said.

“They were endangering the public because they resisted arrest,” said Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono.

More than 2,000 suspected criminals have been arrested in the past few weeks, he added.

Hundreds of extra officers are on patrol in Jakarta before it hosts the August 18-September 2 event along with Palembang city on Sumatra island.

Security is a major concern at the Games which come a few months after fatal attacks in Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya reignited concerns about Islamist militants.

Indonesia’s anti-terrorism squad has arrested some 200 terror suspects since the May attacks, according to the national police chief.

Three terror suspects were shot and killed by police during raids in Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta at the weekend.

Some 100,000 security staff will be deployed in Jakarta, Palembang and West Java province, which is hosting some events, during the Games.

More than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries are set to compete at the second-biggest multisport event behind the Olympics.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the two Koreas have been invited to next month’s Asian Games, Jakarta said Monday, after the neighbours agreed to field several joint teams at the event.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo sent a formal invitation Friday to South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Widodo’s spokesman said, but it was not immediately clear if either has responded.

“The invitation letters have been sent to the leaders,” spokesman Johan Budi told AFP.

Last month, Asian Games organizers announced that North and South Korea will field joint teams in three sports— canoeing, rowing and women’s basketball —in a sign of thawing tensions.

The two countries—which are technically still at war after the 195053 Korean War ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty—will also march together at the opening and closing ceremonies for the showpiece event from August 18-September 2.

The two Koreas formed their first-ever unified Olympic team—a joint women’s ice hockey squad—for last February’s Winter Games in the South, with the North’s participation kicking off a thaw between the two neighbours.

The diplomatic detente also triggered a rapid improvement in relations between Pyongyang and Washington, culminating in last month’s summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore.

The Asian Games, to be held in Jakarta and Palembang on Sumatra island, will feature some 11,000 athletes competing in 40 sports—the second-biggest multisport event behind the Olympics. AFP

3 share WGAP Orchard honors FORMER many-time champion Tagaytay Highlands finally broke through and topped Class A while Eagle Ridge and Aguinaldo took the Classes B and C crowns, respectively, in the fourth leg of the 2018 WGAP Circuit at the Orchard Golf and Country Club’s Player course in Dasmariñas, Cavite recently.

But Villamor held on to the overall lead with a runner-up and third place finish, keeping its slim one-point edge over Aguinaldo halfway through the annual eight-leg circuit organized and conducted by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

Playing with just four players, Tagaytay still delivered behind Alexi Blanco and Grace Jung, who fired identical 31 Stableford points, and Misha Jang and Maline Flores, who backed them up with 30 and 27 points, respectively.

The 143 output netted Tagaytay a onepoint victory in the premier division over Sta. Elena, which drew 44 points from individual winner Rio Co, a pair of 34s from Mela Lee and Lota Nemec and 30 points from Careth Ricamonte for a 142.

Alabang, led by Christine Naidoo’s 37 points, placed third with a 137 followed by Forest Hills (134), Villamor (133), Aguinaldo (132) and Canlubang (129).

Eagle Ridge pooled a 141 from Editha Williams’ 41 points and Jennifer Calibuso, Rosemarie Johnsen and Erlinda Goble’s 36, 34 and 30 points, respectively, to clinch the Class B diadem, three points better than Sta. Elena, which posted another runner-up effort at 138.

ROTA WITH ORPHANS. The Davao Aguilas team, led by Azkal Simone Rota recently met with the orphans of the Tejada Orphanage in Tagum City at the recent screening of Rota’s film-bio “Journeyman Finds Home” at the Citymall in this Southern city. Shown in photo with the orphans and Rota are his teammates Patrick Deyto, Reymart Cubin, Diego Alves and Wes dos Santos. The film will also be shown for free in other Mindanao cities, including Cagayan de Oro.

NCAA postpones Tuesday’s games THE NCAA postponed all its Season 94 games yesterday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City due to bad weather.

The league, however, made the announcement at the end of the first quarter of the juniors’ game pitting Perpetual Help and Arellano University, which was the first of a heavy six-game offering yesterday.

The Junior Altas were leading the Braves,

21-19, when the game was stopped.

NCAA Management Committee chair Frank Gusi of host Perpetual Help said the particular game along with the others that were postponed will be re-played and rescheduled at the end of the first round of eliminations.

The postponement came exactly a week after the league also called off games also due to inclement weather.

Philracom provides incentives to boost racing sales THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE IN ANeffort to increase the number of races and stem the decline of racing sales, the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) recently passed several resolutions to provide incentives to participants.

Philracom, headed by Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez, is the government agency that supervises and regulates horseracing operations.

Resolution No. 10-18 s. 2018, dated May 23 and effective June 1 this year, set minimum additional prizes for ratings-based handicapping races, to be distributed from first to fourth places: P110,000 for Class 1; P90,000 for Class 2; P70,000 for Class 3; P50,000 for Class 4; and P30,000 for Class 5.

Resolution No. 11-18 s. 2018 of May 23 and effective May 29 this year, gives an additional prize of P20,000 to winning horse owners only, for condition races, distributed as follows: P12,000 for first prize, P5,000 for second, P3,000 for third.

The Commission deemed the allocation of these additional prizes as necessary in order to entice more participants in the races. The number of races has declined recently after the passage of the TRAIN law, which imposes an increase on the documentary stamp tax.

This law has negatively affected horse prizes and winning dividends, resulting in reduced participation by both horse owners and bettors, leading to a decline in sales.

A decline in racing sales also means a corresponding decline in government revenue from direct and indirect taxes.

This is a case of the government shooting its own foot. By imposing TRAIN without consultation and deep study of its impacts on various revenue sectors, the government now stands to

have a reduced—or it might even lose— its dependable and steady income from racing of around P1 billion a year.

The Philracom and the rest of the industry are trying their best to stem the TRAIN tide. The three racing clubs recently reduced their popular betting options, the daily double and forecast, to one event per day in order to combat illegal bookie operations, which are eating large chunks of what should be legitimate revenue. Bookies pay no taxes and make no decent contribution to society at all.

Racing today faces bookies, TRAIN, high cost of operations, and many other challenges as it struggles to survive. Without support from other government agencies such as the finance department, which could very well exempt or shield racing from the effects of TRAIN, this traditional pastime of almost 200 years could very well die. With it will go the employment, businesses, and investments of thousands of people, and the annual P1 billion in direct taxes.

*** By the way, another columnist recently referred to a case filed in March 2017 by the Anti-Trapo Movement with the Office of the Ombudsman against the leadership of Philracom. The latter were alleged to have failed to protect the horseracing industry by allowing “e-sabong” bets at racing OTBs. To set the record straight, the Office of the Ombudsman, in a joint resolution dated 11 April 2018 and signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales herself, dismissed the case outright due to lack of merit, there being “no substantial evidence” presented to support the allegations.

According to the Ombudsman, Philracom has no jurisdiction over the betting aspects and operation of e-sabong, as that function falls under the Games and Amusements Board. *** Dr. Ortuoste, a writer and researcher, has a PhD in Communication. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and @DrJennyO, Twitter: @drhoarsewhsprr and @DrJennyO

JR Olrgario (5) of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa drives past a defender, Xyrus Torres, of National University

St. Joseph, PLM, First City score big wins THE Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa Marshalls, St. Joseph College of Bulacan and the First City Providential College Taurus came through with big wins at start of the 16th Fr. Martin Cup Division 2 basketball tournament last Saturday.

The Marshalls, behind Daniel Austria, James Gemao and Jan Posada, started strong and put away the National University-B Bullpups, 85-69, at the St. Placid gymnasium inside San Beda-Manila campus in Mendiola.

This put the Marshalls in the early lead of Group A of the senior division, which attracted 15 collegiate squads.

Austria led with 18 points for the Marshalls, who also got 16 and 14 points from Gemao and Posada, respectively.

SJC-Bulacan, whose participation was made possible through athletic director Willy Ventura, drew 27 points from Mark Javier in its 94-68 thumping of San Beda University-Manila B in Group A of the junior division.

Theo Pabico shot a game-high 33 points in leading the the FCPC Taurus to a 115-109 upset of the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs in double overtime.

Pabico’s drive and three charities in the last 33 seconds settled the score in favor of the Taurus.

Austria scored 8 points in the first period as the Marshalls quickly took the helm, 19-13.

The Marshalls got three of four triples they scored from Austria in the second period as they went on to lead by as much as 16 points, 42-26, at halftime.

A total of 16 high school squads have joined this tournament, held in honor of Fr. Edgar Martin, according to commissioner Robert de la Rosa.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M+ 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

Riera U. Mallari, Editor Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@thestandard.com.ph sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018

Sports

World Cup winners get heroes’ welcome PARIS—The World Cup-winning French team returned home to a heroes’ welcome on Monday, parading down the Champs-Elysees as hundreds of thousands of cheering fans gave a raucous welcome to the country’s newest idols.

After overcoming a determined Croatia to win 4-2 in Sunday’s final in Russia, the team came back to euphoric crowds in Paris hoping to catch a glimpse of the players that have captured the nation’s imagination.

The footballers did not disappoint, passing the golden World Cup trophy from player to player as they jumped and danced on an open-air bus with “World Champions” emblazoned on its side.

“Wow, it was completely crazy!

They are too beautiful, France is beautiful!” said Julia Cohen, 28, after seeing players pass by on the ChampsElysees, the gathering point for all national celebrations.

The parade was under heavy police guard, with 2,000 officers deployed in the capital to ensure the safety of the estimated 300,000 people who turned up.

Above the partying crowds, nine jets from the Patrouille de France, the air force’s acrobatic unit, did an honorary flyover trailing blue, white and red smoke.

‘Allez les Bleus!’

After leaving the Champs-Elysees, the players changed into custom-made blue suits before being welcomed at the Elysee Palace by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who were also decked out in blue for the occasion.

Macron has already promised the Legion of Honour for the victors’ “exceptional services” to the country, an award given to the legendary team that won France’s first World Cup title in 1998.

The first couple then posed with the team as they sang the Marseillaise national anthem and waved scarves for a joyous group photo, before heading inside for a private meeting.

“Thanks to you all!” Macron told the team after gathering again outside.

“This team is beautiful because you are united!”

Midfielder Paul Pogba, despite his voice nearly failing him, then proved himself a showman off the pitch as well as on by leading the guests in an impromptu celebratory rap punctuated by “Allez les Bleus!” AFP

Charity golfest set for ex-pros

By Peter Atencio A CHARITY golf tournament that seeks to help retired players who saw action for teams in the Philippine Basketball Association is in the works.

Organized by the Samahan ng mga Dating Propesyonal na Basketbolista Foundation Inc., the one-day event gets going on July 26 at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong.

“Isa itong paraan para makatulong sa mga pangangailangan ng mga retiradong player,” said the foundation’s chairman Atoy Co, who was a guest with Allan Caidic and Ed Cordero yesterday at the weekly PSA Forum at the Tapa King Restaurant in Farmer’s Cubao.

The tournament will be known as the first PBA Legends Golf Tournament.

Former players in the PBA are among those organizing the golfest as a way of reaching out to their colleagues in need.

Co said their efforts started in 2016 when he was a commissioner of the UNTV. Back then, UNTV president and CEO Daniel Razon broached the idea to Co as a way to help players who are no longer active.

Co said that during that time, players in the PBA were n o t fortunate to have such a high salary that the present crop of players gets.

He said the case of Samboy Lim when he had a cardiac arrest was among their inspirations.

When Lim needed funds for his therapy, sponsors came forward, but not all former pros are as popular as him, hence the creation of this project.

With his eyes zeroed in on leading San Miguel Beer to another finals stint, June Mar Fajardo, shown here being guarded by Alaska Sonny Thoss and Diamon Simpson, flashed his MVP form in the playoffs to capture his second Cignal-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week award in the Commissioner’s Cup. The 6’10” Fajardo averaged 21.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.0 assists for the period of July 9-15 on the way to snaring the weekly citation, beating former college rival Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra.

SMB eyes 3-0 sweep, return trip to finals

By Jeric Lopez

D

EFENDING champion San Miguel Beer eyes a 3-0 sweep and a return trip to the finals when it clashes with Alaska at 7 p.m. today in Game 3 of the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

On the verge of yet another appearance in the finals, the Beermen look forward to possibly ending the series right away, but is also wary of the Aces’ bounce-back capability.

“We’re almost in the finals, pero hindi pa ito tapos,” said SMB coach Leo Austria. “We’re ahead in the series, but Alaska will not give up so we have to finish it as soon as we can.”

San Miguel Beer took the 2-0 series lead after putting on another textbook comeback in in Game 2 Monday night.

The Beermen first withstood a

16-point deficit in the first half before eventually turning on the switch and dominating in the second for a 105-94 rout of the Aces.

Despite a good start, Alaska was unable to sustain its fire and failed to keep up with San Miguel when it mattered.

With their backs against the wall now, the Aces must find a way to solve the tough puzzle that is San Miguel Beer in order to keep their season alive.

Meanwhile, due to bad weather, the league decided to postpone yesterday’s Game 2 clash between Barangay Ginebra

and Rain or Shine in their own best-of-five semis clash.

The game will be rescheduled tomorrow night at 7 pm.

“The safety and security of the fans, players and officials are always of utmost importance,” said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial.

The Gin Kings lead that series 1-0.

Meanwhile, with his eyes zeroed in on leading San Miguel Beer to another finals stint, June Mar Fajardo flashed his MVP form in the playoffs to capture his second Cignal-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week award in the Commissioner’s Cup. The 6’10” Fajardo averaged 21.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.0 assists for the period of July 9-15 on the way to snaring the weekly citation, beating former college rival Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra.

Vivo 3X3 Hoop Battle champs to play in China

By Ernest Caballero TEAM Ballers, Metro Star Realty, F4 and BS Susim Shipping teams won the first two legs of the Vivo’s 3x3 Hoop Battle Championship in the Philippines recently at the Glorietta Mall, Makati City and at the TriNoma Mall, Quezon City.

The first Vivo 3x3 Basketball tournament is giving Filipino hoop fans the chance to experience 3x3 basketball tournament.

The first game that was held last July 1 had a total of 12 teams participating in the tournament, namely Pio Makati, Arellano University 1, Mamba Army MNL, Team Downtown, New Born: St. Claire College, Bigshot Burger, Glorietta, Zion, Turbo and Team 3WC, with Team Ballers and Metro Star Realty emerging as winners.

The second leg topped by F4 and the BS Susim Shipping also had 12 teams such as Alphas, D’Engineers, California Supreme, Fuego Heneral, Bulacan Hoopers, Spartans, Radiant Hoops, Ballerz, Team Mommy Kate and Team 3WA. The last leg of the tournament will be held on July 22 in Fairview Terraces.

The top two teams per leg will advance to the finals set on July 29 in Market!

Market!

It was an action-packed first round of eliminations of the Vivo Hoop Battle Championship Philippines at the Glorietta Mall.

Vivo will give the two best teams in the tournament a cash prize of P200,000 and P100,000, as well as the chance to play in Guangzhou, China, where they will duel against other groups in Asia with the Hoop Battle Champion title at stake.

The Hoop Battle Championship is an annual 3x3 basketball tournament, held in different districts in China and other Asian countries, created by VIVO, a global smartphone brand that develops innovative and stylish products for young people.

New calling for Bolt: football pro SYDNEY—Usain Bolt is on the verge of sealing a deal to trial with the A-League’s Central Coast Mariners, the Australian club said Tuesday, as the sprint legend pursues his dream of playing professional football.

Eight-time Olympic champion Bolt, 31, who retired from athletics after August’s World Championships in London, is an avid Manchester United fan who has long dreamt of playing top-flight football.

The 100m and 200m world recordholder trained with Norwegian club Stromsgodset last month and Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund in March.

The planned arrangement will see him take part in a six-week trial starting next month at the Mariners’ base in Gosford, some 75 kilometres (47 miles) north of Sydney, chief executive Shaun Mielekamp said.

A season-long deal could follow if it goes well, he told commercial broadcaster Channel Seven.

Football agent Tony Rallis, who has been working on the deal, told Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast Tuesday it has been agreed “in principle... subject to a couple of benchmarks”.

“Mainly, a trial, and of course marquee funds support from (governing body Football Federation Australia),” he said, adding that the arrangement was not a gimmick.

“Once the FFA comes back and says that they’ll be part of the process, we’re going to the trial... This bloke’s an ambitious athlete. The A-League needed a hero, and we got superman.”

Mielekamp said his club had been working on the agreement for four to five months, and there was still “some work to do”.

“But fingers crossed things might play out, but the most important thing is we wait to find out and see how good a footballer he is first.

“If all goes well, who knows? He may be playing in the A-League this season.”

Mielekamp said reports of Bolt’s performance at the European clubs he has trialled with have been “pretty good”, and that “every time he trains, he improves significantly”.

“He has a very good left foot, and time will tell at what level he is at and if it fits the A-League... it would only be big if he could play and go really well,” he said. AFP

2-leg ICTSI Champion Tour begins at Southwoods

Ngam-usawn

CARMONA, Cavite—The ICTSI Champion Tour kicks off its two-week swing here at Manila Southwoods with the crack international field, led by the fancied Thais and Taiwanese, putting premium on shot selection as they slug it out for top honours in wet condition in the $75,000 event starting today (Wednesday, July 18) here.

Rains spawned by Typhoon Henry have softened up the fairways and the greens but the all-weather Legends layout remain ready for the 54-hole tournament that drew some of the leading players of the Taiwan LPGA Tour and the cream of the local pro crop.

“The course is so great even in this kind of weather,” said Saruttaya Ngam-usawn, one of a slew of Thais tipped to contend for the $15,000 top purse in the blue-ribbon event

sponsored by ICTSI. “It’s easy because they have forwarded the pins, so I’ll just enjoy my game.”

The winner of the Royal Northwoods leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour in 2016 is actually fighting off flu-like symptoms but remained upbeat of her chances against a stellar cast that includes bidders from Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and the US. Taiwanese Lee Hsin and Chen MinJou, the Nos. 2 and 3 players, respectively, in the current TLPGA Order of Merit ranking, and No. 9 Lin Tzu-chi, and Thais Saranporn Langkulgasettrin and Renuka Suksukont, winners of the first two Phl Ladies Masters, banner the star-studded field in the TLPGA Tour-sanctioned

event also serving as the 10th leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. LPGT leg winners Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, Onkanok Soisuwan, Wannasiri Sirisampant and Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang also exude confidence as they seek another title crack in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZGm PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf.

Focus will also be on the local bets who are out to end the foreign domination of the Champion Tour and this year’s LPGT that saw the Thais rack up five victories, including Kawinpakorn, who nailed her second LPGT win in the season at Summit Point last month.

IN BRIEF Telecom selection mode known Friday THE Department of Information Communications and Technology is confident an oversight committee will adopt the highest committed level of service model for the selection of the third telecommunications player over the proposal of the Department of Finance to auction frequencies.

DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio said the oversight committee would convene on Friday to set the selection process for a new major player in the public telecommunications market.

The committee, composed of the DICT, the Department of Finance, the Office of the Executive Secretary and the National Security Adviser, is set to decide on the formulation of the final terms of reference for the selection process.

Rio said the agency was “very confident” in the viability of the HCLos model in choosing a truly competent telco player and “one that is dedicated to service and not just for profit.”

The HCLoS model is consistent with the terms of reference being backed by the DICT as it geared toward allowing the new major player to compete with the incumbent players. Darwin G Amojelar

Hyundai undaunted by lower auto sales HYUNDAI Asia Resources Inc., the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the country, said Tuesday vehicles sales in the first six months of 2018 declined 8 percent to 15,957 units from 17,366 units year-on-year.

Hari president and chief executive officer Maria Fe Perez-Agudo said the automotive sector was having a hard time keeping sales up due to a number of factors that included the effect of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law. “Hyundai’s 1st semester sales remain consistent with the trend in the industry.

Nonetheless, we are confident that we can continue to respond to these challenges and certainly delight our consumers with our improved array of products and services as we are expecting greater potential for the rest of the year,” she said.

Hyundai passenger car sales dipped 10 percent to 10,838 units in the first half of 2018 from 12,039 units on year, while those of commercial car sales fell 3.9 percent to 15,957 units from 17,366 units. Othel V. Campos

Business

Shakey’s Pizza opens first of 10 outlets in Dubai

By Jenniffer B. Austria SHAKEY’S Pizza Asia Ventures Inc., the listed firm behind the Shakey’s Pizza chain, expanded its footprint in the Middle East with the opening of its first store in Dubai.

SPAVI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the new store was the first of the 10 Shakey’s branches to open in the United Arab Emirates under a franchise agreement with Aljeel Capital, a Dubaibased group.

“We are excited to have more stores in the UAE, with our flagship Dubai restaurant finally open and with the overwhelming turnout we had during opening night,” said Aljeel chief executive Firas Hurieh.

“We are proud to say that our store broke several Shakey’s records on that day – the highest total net sales during opening day and the largest number of pre-sold loyalty program ‘Supercards’,” he said.

Aljeel committed to open the remaining nine stores in the UAE over a span of five years.

Located opposite Burjuman Mall and just a few steps from Exit 4 of Burjuman Metro Station (one of the busiest stations in Dubai), the new store is strategically located and very accessible, thus attracting good traffic and high brand visibility.

SPAVI said everything on the menu was halal-certified, in line with Dubai’s Islamic culture.

The key features and flavors that make for a Shakey’s trademark experience were meticulously kept intact. Marinade, breading, dough blends and spice mix for the pizzas, chicken and spaghetti were flown in from the Philippines.

“Dubai, UAE, and the rest of the Middle East are great markets for us.

Aside from the strong and welcoming Filipino communities which really love the Shakey’s brand and are excited about experiencing it away from home, Pizza is also a western concept with western menu―thus giving us tremendous growth opportunities within the mainstream markets there,” SPAVI president and chief executive Vic Gregorio said.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018

B1

BSP ready to take decisive measure B

By Julito G. Rada

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said Tuesday the bank is ready to take a decisive action to rein in inflation, following two successive interest rate hikes in May and June this year.

Espenilla told the participants of the Institute of Corporate Directors 2018 mid-year economic briefing at Diamond Hotel in Manila that the two successive rate increases in May and June were measured and deliberate responses to the evolving economic environment and dynamic market conditions meant to help anchor inflation expectations and temper second-round effects.

“These were undertaken even as we await full im-

plementation of appropriate policy response to supply shocks such as the national government’s social safety net programs,” he said.

“We reaffirm our strong commitment to ensure that inflation returns to target by 2019. We stand ready to take decisive action in a timely manner to address emerging risks that could threaten the attainment of this target,” Espenilla said.

Inflation in June accelerated to an over five-year high of 5.2 percent from 4.6 percent in May and surpassed the government forecast for the month, triggered by faster increases in the prices of some food and beverage products.

The June inflation, based on the 2012 price index, was also significantly faster than 2.5 percent registered a year ago. This brought the average inflation in the first half to 4.3 percent, beyond the BSP’s 2018 target range of 2 percent to 4 percent.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng earlier said the high inflation point for June would like-

ly require further monetary policy response as early as the August meeting.

“Real policy rate is deeper in the red indicating that a more aggressive economic policy response would be needed. Real policy rate is now -1.7 percent from -0.4 percent only in January,” Cuyegkeng said.

Espenilla said monetary authorities were treating the inflation outlook as a concern, given the elevated inflation expectations and increasing risks of second-round effects from ongoing price pressures.

“We assure that our monetary policy responses to elevated inflation pressures were, and are, timely and appropriate,” Espenilla said.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said in a previous report that the Bangko Sentral might raise interest rates by another 25 basis points to 3.75 percent before the close of the year to rein in inflation.

ANZ said strong growth resulted in persistent macro imbalances, the most noteworthy of which were higher inflation and a wider trade deficit.

Car sales slid 22% to 29,350 units in June

By Othel V. Campos

Magnun Air backs reforms in Customs MAGNUM Air (Skyyet) Inc. said it supports the efforts of Bureau of Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena to initiate reforms and address corruption issues within the agency.

The current owners of Magnum Air, commenting on seizure case of the Skyjet aircraft, said they filed a case of syndicated estafa as early as February 2016 against the previous management for illegal acts and other irregularities, as shown by a copy of the complaint submitted to the BoC. “As early as December 2016, as a result of internal compliance audits conducted by the new management on the company’s operations, the company communicated with the BoC Port of Subic its willingness to voluntarily disclose and settle any tax and duty obligation due with regard to the subject aircraft,” the firm said in a statement.

“This was prior to the issuance of a Warrant of Seizure and Detention on May 2017.

The effort was made notwithstanding the lack of knowledge and participation by the new owners on the misdeeds of the previous management,” Magnum Air said.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor

RCBC’S P15-B OFFERING. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. holds a bell ringing ceremony at the Philippine Stock Exchange to mark the completion of its P15-billion stock rights offering. Leading the ceremony are (from left) RCBC Capital Corp. president and chief executive Jose Luis Gomez, RCBC senior executive vice president and head of asset management and remedial group and strategic initiatives John Thomas Deveras, RCBC advisory board member and RCBC Capital Corp. chairperson Yvonne Yuchengco, RCBC corporate vice chairman Cesar Virata, PSE chairman Jose Pardo, PSE director Ma. Vivian Yuchengco, PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran and Pan Malayan Management and Investment Corp. senior vice president Ramon Vizmonte.

Naia Consortium to be declared original proponent F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

53.5220

Japan

Yen

0.008906

0.4767 70.8524

UK

Pound

1.323800

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127411

6.8193

Switzerland

Franc

1.003412

53.7046

Canada

Dollar

0.761441

40.7538

Singapore

Dollar

0.734268

39.2995

Australia

Dollar

0.741800

39.7026

Bahrain

Dinar

2.640403

141.3196

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

14.2717

Brunei

Dollar

0.731582

39.1557

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000070

0.0037

Thailand

Baht

0.030066

1.6092

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

14.5725

Euro

Euro

1.171100

62.6796

Korea

Won

0.000887

0.0475

China

Yuan

0.149423

7.9974

India

Rupee

0.014590

0.7809

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.247525

13.2480

New Zealand

Dollar

0.677500

36.2612

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032757

1.7532

Source: PDS Bridge

By Darwin G. Amojelar CLARK Freeport―The Manila International Airport Authority will likely grant this week the original proponent status to Naia Consortium for the rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, according to Trade Secretary Arthur Tugade.

“We have a decision recommending the issuance of original proponent status to Naia Consortium. We gave the recommendation to MIAA because they are the primary agency, not the DOTr,” Tugade said in a news briefing.

MIAA general manager Ed Monreal confirmed that he received the endorsement letter from the DOTr for the Naia rehabilitation and O&M. “They give us the notice to adopt the proposal and this will be discussed by the MIAA board. The board will convene this Thursday to discuss the proposal [of NAIA Consortium],” Monreal said.

The Naia Consortium proposed to expand and interconnect the existing terminals of Naia, upgrade airside facili-

ties and develop commercial facilities to increase airline and airport efficiencies, enhance passenger comfort and experience and improve public perception of Naia as the country’s premier international gateway.

The consortium’s members are Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., AEDC, Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

The consortium committed to spend P106 billion for a 15-year concession period, down from the original proposal of 35 years.

Construction of the additional runway will ensure the ability of Naia to serve as Manila’s gateway in the years to come, bringing potential capacity up to 100 million passengers per year from over 40 million passengers last year.

The upgrades will elevate Naia to the level of major regional airports such as Changi in Singapore and Suvarnabhumi in Bangkok. It is also seen to become a viable transit hub for the Asean region.

VEHICLE sales slumped 21.7 percent in June from a year ago, as the industry continued to feel the impact of higher excise taxes on passenger cars and accelerating inflation rate.

A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association showed that sales of motor vehicles declined to 29,350 units in June from a record 37,479 units a year earlier.

Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said the double-digit decline was largely due to consumers’ prioritization of basic goods and services over big-ticket items amid rising inflation rate.

“This is a typical consumers behavior pattern when economic condition is a bit gloomy due to less favorable economic indicators. However, we remain optimistic that our sales will recover in the coming months, and hopefully a sustained growth by the end of the year,” Gutierrez said.

Passenger cars sales plummeted 42.6 percent in June to 7,766 units from 13,525 deliveries in the same month last year. Commercial vehicle sales also suffered a 9.9-percent drop to 21,584 units from 23,954 units.

Among the commercial vehicle segments, Asian utility vehicles posted the biggest decline of 31.7 percent to 5,061 units from 7,414 units. This was followed by a 5-percent drop in light trucks sales to 706 units from 749 units and a 0.6-percent reduction in light commercial vehicle sales to 15,179 units from 15,278 units.

Category IV and V trucks and buses performed well with 25 percent and 22.9 percent sales growth, respectively.

Data showed that total vehicle sales in the first six months also went down 12.5 percent to 171,352 units from 195,772 units sold in the first half of 2017.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the biggest seller in June, with 42.7-percent market share, followed

by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 19.5 percent and Nissan Philippines Inc. with 7.72 percent.

ING expects peso to sustain depreciation

FPG INSURANCE’S AWARDS. FPG Insurance, a major player in the general insurance industry and leader in motor insurance coverage, bags back-to-back wins at the 2018 BSP Stakeholders Awards given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on July 10, 2018 at the BSP Assembly Hall. Shown during the awarding ceremony are (from left) BSP Monetary Board member and chairman of the BSP Stakeholders Awards board of judges Antonio Abacan Jr., FPG Insurance Philippines president and chief executive Ramon Dimacali and Bangko Sentral resource management sector deputy governor Maria Almasara Cyd Tuaño-Amador.

THE peso is expected to depreciate further against the US dollar in the coming days, after hitting a 12-year low this week, Dutch financial giant ING Bank said in a report Tuesday.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said the strong remittances from Filipinos working overseas were not enough to cover the shortfall in trade deficit this year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported on Monday that money sent home by Filipinos working overseas rose 6.9 percent in May and 4.2 percent in the first five months.

“Despite the upside surprise in April and May, the monthly remittances remain inadequate to finance the monthly trade deficit. The shortfall of remittances to finance the May trade deficit amounted to $1.2 billion,” Cuyegkeng said.

“The shortfall for the five months is $3.9 billion, a turnaround from the excess of $1.2 billion in the first five months of 2017. This shortfall would likely continue and would keep the Philippine peso on the defensive,”

Cuyegkeng said.

The peso hit a 12-year low of 53.53 against the US dollar on Monday, before recovering slightly to close at 53.39 against the greenback Tuesday.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the country’s trade-in-goods deficit widened by 48 percent in May to $3.7 billion. This brought the trade deficit in the first five months to $15.76 billion, up 55 percent from the $10.164-billion deficit a year ago.

Remittances in May 2018 expanded 6.9 percent to $2.469 billion from $2.310 billion a year earlier. This brought cash remittances in the first five months to $11.822 billion, up 4.2 percent from $11.336 billion in the same period last year.

Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, grew 6.1 percent in May to $2.746 billion from $2.588 billion in the same month last year.

Personal remittances in the first five months hit $13.172 billion, up 4.4 percent from $12.613 billion a year ago.

Julito G. Rada

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks rise slightly; Metro Pacific up

S

HARE prices rose slightly Tuesday in dull trading, with investors searching for a catalyst to prop up the market.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 12.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,381.68 on a value turnover of just P3.6 billion. Gainers edged losers, 91 to 90, with 55 issues unchanged.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, power generation and hospitals, gained 2 percent to P4.52, while Universal Robina Corp., the biggest snack food maker, climbed 1.6 percent to P130.80.

Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest fastfood chain, rose 1.5 percent to P252.60, but Megawide Construction Corp.,

which just completed the expansion of the Mactan Cebu International Airport, tumbled 4.4 percent to P18.20.

Energy firms, meanwhile, led a selloff in most Asian equity markets on Tuesday a day after supply fears sent oil prices plunging, while confidence remains fragile owing to ongoing fears of a global trade war.

After hitting three-and-a-half-year highs at the start of the month, crude has dropped almost 10 percent as it is hit by a perfect storm of issues that have fueled fears of a glut.

The losses filtered through to energy firms with CNOOC and PetroChina down more than three percent in Hong Kong, while Woodside Petroleum was more than two percent off in Sydney and Tokyo-listed Inpex lost more than one percent.

Broader stock markets were also mostly down with Hong Kong 1.2 percent lower, Shanghai 0.6 percent off

and Sydney 0.6 percent lower. There were also losses for Seoul, Wellington and Taipei.

However, Tokyo—which was closed for a holiday Monday—ended 0.4 percent higher thanks to a weaker yen and Singapore edged up 0.3 percent in late trade.

Worries about the impact on demand caused by a possible trade war between the US and China took their toll last week, as did news that Libya was exporting again after recent oil field closures.

That all came just weeks after major producers Saudi Arabia, Russia and Opec agreed to lift a 2016 ceiling that had supported prices.

The latest spark for selling came Monday on reports the US may tap its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower prices, and speculation Riyadh was considering increasing output for some Asian countries.

Also Monday US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated the Trump administration could allow some exceptions to a ban on purchases of Iranian oil.

“It very much seems like a continued reaction to potential supply increases,” Bart Melek, head of global commodity strategy at TD Securities in Toronto, told Bloomberg News.

“The combination of the supply-side effect and the potential for less demand as a result of trade woes that we’re seeing are prompting people to take some of the long bets off oil right now.”

Oil fell on Tuesday, extending losses of more than four percent the day before.

Fears about a China-US trade war continue to nag investors, with both sides filing counter-complaints at the World Trade Organization after recently imposing and threatening further tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2018

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HIGH

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ASIA UNITED BANK PH ISLANDS BDO LEASING BDO UNIBANK BRIGHT KINDLE CHINABANK CITYSTATE BANK COL FINANCIAL EAST WEST BANK FERRONOUX HLDG FILIPINO FUND FIRST ABACUS MANULIFE MEDCO HLDG METROBANK NTL REINSURANCE PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PHIL STOCK EXCH RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK VANTAGE

59.7 96.3 2.68 127.9 1.52 33.2 6.68 16.62 14.78 3.44 8.56 0.68 820.5 0.53 69.8 1.02 12 19.78 46.5 190.1 28.5 211.8 84 1.2

59.7 96.45 2.69 131.5 1.52 33.25 6.68 16.62 14.78 3.55 8.56 0.68 820.5 0.53 70 1.03 12 19.78 47.75 194.8 28.6 212 84.5 1.2

59.3 95.05 2.67 127.3 1.52 33 6.68 16.5 14.66 3.44 8.56 0.68 820.5 0.52 68.9 1.01 12 19.78 46.35 190 28.45 211.4 84 1.2

FINANCIALS 59.7 4,190 95.5 1,433,200 2.69 65,000 129 1,087,130 1.52 10,000 33 332,600 6.68 100 16.62 2,300 14.68 507,900 3.55 133,000 8.56 600 0.68 1,000 820.5 30 0.53 95,000 70 4,567,150 1.01 832,000 12 500 19.78 100 46.35 37,500 194.8 370 28.45 208,900 211.6 892,830 84 4,200 1.2 40,000

250,034 136,782,910 174,400 140,068,981 15,200 10,994,140 668 37,998 7,465,986 461,360 5,136 680 24,615 49,950 317,245,922.50 842,990 6,000 1,978 1,740,980 70,409 5,952,010 189,079,300 353,462 48,000

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CONCRETE A CROWN ASIA DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR ENERGY DEVT FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETROENERGY PETRON PHIL H2O PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VIVANT VULCAN INDL

36.45 15.88 0.73 1.18 0.248 3.25 15.6 42.9 22.2 52.2 66.4 1.88 7.8 10 15.84 10.7 7.26 5.16 15.22 61 22.95 7.39 13.3 2.34 249 5.06 3.31 26.9 11.5 18.98 359 6.7 2.25 4.11 8.75 5.72 1.24 12 55.75 4.65 2.25 1.8 13.24 5.38 0.126 0.91 128.6 2.51 2.51 21 1.46

36.95 15.88 0.75 1.18 0.26 3.25 15.6 43 22.5 52.2 71 1.88 7.8 10.18 15.9 10.7 7.35 5.18 15.28 61.3 23.9 7.4 13.3 2.4 252.6 5.15 3.31 27.6 11.68 19 359 6.99 2.25 4.11 8.79 5.78 1.24 12 56 4.68 2.26 1.87 13.28 5.38 0.127 0.91 130.9 2.51 2.6 21 1.49

36.2 15.5 0.7 1.18 0.244 3.15 15.6 41.9 22.1 52 66.4 1.86 7.8 10 15.82 10.68 7.26 5.14 15 61 22.95 7.35 13.2 2.31 248.4 5.06 3.3 26.8 11.3 18.2 352 6.7 2.2 4.1 8.7 5.53 1.24 11.9 55.7 4.65 2.19 1.78 13.08 5.25 0.126 0.89 127.6 2.5 2.5 21 1.46

INDUSTRIAL 36.95 1,552,300 15.52 337,800 0.71 12,625,000 1.18 32,000 0.255 4,230,000 3.16 1,392,000 15.6 27,200 41.9 420,700 22.1 10,000 52 1,351,950 71 1,800 1.87 20,000 7.8 200 10.08 5,461,300 15.9 346,200 10.7 49,000 7.32 1,004,400 5.14 519,700 15.2 476,900 61.15 63,250 23.9 50,000 7.39 49,600 13.24 1,161,500 2.4 1,710,000 252.6 240,860 5.15 5,100 3.3 4,000 26.9 201,200 11.3 172,500 18.2 7,988,900 357 89,130 6.98 5,500 2.25 356,000 4.1 3,000 8.78 571,000 5.63 348,500 1.24 9,000 12 5,100 55.85 92,560 4.68 10,000 2.25 153,000 1.8 179,000 13.28 28,800 5.29 545,700 0.127 480,000 0.9 26,000 130.8 923,440 2.5 60,000 2.52 7,296,000 21 1,800 1.47 3,915,000

56,810,685 5,313,616 9,040,470 37,760 1,067,470 4,430,350 424,320 17,787,465 221,275 70,301,440 120,854 37,420 1,560 54,874,908 5,503,126 524,262 7,347,063 2,678,556 7,210,222 3,860,842 1,184,930 365,561 15,380,348 4,030,550 60,290,302 25,815 13,220 5,436,910 1,971,644 148,429,120 31,831,156 37,280 800,000 12,310 5,015,274 1,963,824 11,160 60,760 5,168,937 46,680 337,350 321,190 379,030 2,892,676 60,880 23,420 119,736,280 150,520 18,581,850 37,800 5,771,020

-4,602,065 -104,612 1,165,780 4,205 -93,640 14,960 -2,454,014 1,732,732 -646,590 -2,375,081 -5,555,688 2,233,833 9,641,978 16,480 1,662,234 -2,098,710 -1,084,738 -89,398,482 4,266,544 72,000 1,123,774 55,500 1,979,577.50 -10,950 -15,732 29,110 56,882,581 20,000 -384,440 -45,570

ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANSCOR ASIABEST GROUP ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B AYALA CORP COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME MEDIA PRIME ORION REPUBLIC GLASS SAN MIGUEL CORP SM INVESTMENTS SOLID GROUP TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.244 53.55 11.64 6.06 32 0.71 0.72 964 6.09 10.9 7.1 4.5 0.202 950 6.1 52.5 5.07 0.62 3.56 17.82 0.67 4.43 0.039 1.25 2.75 2.66 136 908 1.62 259.8 0.375 0.225

0.248 54.15 11.66 6.12 33.75 0.72 0.74 969 6.12 10.98 7.1 4.5 0.212 960 6.1 55.1 5.07 0.62 3.56 17.9 0.68 4.54 0.039 1.3 2.81 2.66 136.9 908 1.63 260 0.38 0.225

0.244 53.1 11.58 6.06 31 0.7 0.72 952 6.04 10.8 7.1 4.5 0.202 945 5.97 52.4 5.07 0.6 3.54 17.52 0.64 4.43 0.039 1.25 2.75 2.66 135.1 899 1.61 259 0.355 0.225

HOLDING FIRMS 0.248 340,000 53.15 1,085,610 11.62 4,823,000 6.12 19,000 32.2 262,800 0.72 6,661,000 0.74 719,000 953 134,660 6.12 1,037,000 10.98 3,172,300 7.1 100 4.5 7,000 0.212 450,000 960 63,310 5.98 8,900 52.9 1,952,430 5.07 1,500 0.62 64,000 3.55 1,408,000 17.7 831,200 0.65 2,378,000 4.52 13,108,000 0.039 1,400,000 1.25 1,082,000 2.81 291,000 2.66 3,000 136.9 89,480 900 109,960 1.61 95,000 260 2,270 0.355 59,590,000 0.225 130,000

83,460 58,094,975 56,019,348 115,900 8,522,520 4,715,840 518,080 128,411,010 6,295,726 34,784,756 710 31,500 92,100 60,462,535 53,222 103,914,988 7,605 38,480 4,998,440 14,695,290 1,562,120 59,166,180 54,600 1,379,240 807,560 7,980 12,229,647 98,990,270 153,400 589,718 21,702,350 29,250

18,709,200.50 -42,776,426.00 36,440 79,040 -58,778,685 116,363 3,055,922 -1,317,380 -5,656,976 706,640 -7,227,510 325,000 -19,521,530 -3,163,576 -26,006,240 -2,590 11,100 -

8990 HLDG A BROWN ANCHOR LAND ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEB LANDMASTERS CEBU HLDG CENTURY PROP CITY AND LAND CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DM WENCESLAO DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE IRC PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY

7.3 0.96 15 1.95 0.72 37.25 3.24 4.66 5.9 0.435 0.9 0.88 0.224 0.4 8.78 25.25 0.61 1.45 1.21 1.4 4.54 0.62 0.455 0.52

7.35 0.97 15 1.95 0.72 37.65 3.24 4.66 5.9 0.435 0.92 0.9 0.224 0.405 8.82 25.25 0.61 1.45 1.23 1.44 4.56 0.63 0.46 0.52

7.28 0.94 14.98 1.95 0.7 37.1 3.12 4.59 5.65 0.43 0.9 0.88 0.217 0.4 8.74 25.05 0.61 1.44 1.19 1.39 4.45 0.6 0.44 0.5

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

NAME

232,138 -16,334,469 -46,966,855 762,700 -1,561,468 -145,764,152.50 60,100 -1,396,770 1,948 4,999,724 -16,800 -

NAME

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

3.65 19.76 2 3.25 37 1.09 7.41 0.75 6.1

3.77 19.76 2 3.25 37 1.1 7.71 0.78 6.1

3.57 19.42 1.98 3.25 36.45 1.06 7.33 0.75 5.97

3.72 19.52 2 3.25 37 1.1 7.6 0.78 5.98

1,744,000 234,500 60,000 1,000 2,758,700 1,615,000 1,388,500 71,000 4,715,800

6,391,630 4,597,764 119,590 3,250 101,607,515 1,735,630 10,538,381 53,400 28,219,970

1,099,880 -4,047,588 61,940 50,672,040 22,926 -6,260,089

2GO GROUP ABS CBN APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL ASIAN TERMINALS BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CENTRO ESCOLAR CHELSEA DFNN INC DISCOVERY WORLD EASYCALL FAR EASTERN U GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN BRIA HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA JOCKEY MELCO RESORTS METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PAXYS PHIL SEVEN CORP PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRANSPACIFIC BR TRAVELLERS WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

14.48 24.95 0.51 0.044 13 5.05 9.37 0.054 71.95 8.4 7.05 6.75 2.08 30.2 910 1,669 5.36 281 3.35 2.09 80.5 12.98 0.14 2.85 3.75 15 4.25 1.04 24.95 4.35 5.57 2.59 2.16 2.35 17 9.29 11 8.7 3.13 122 5.32 1,340 0.84 45.3 83 8.02 1.82 1.14 0.51 4.99 0.76 11.8

14.48 24.95 0.51 0.044 13.78 5.05 9.5 0.055 72.15 8.98 7.05 6.75 2.08 31 910 1,709 5.39 281 3.65 2.09 81.5 12.98 0.14 2.94 3.75 15 4.38 1.04 24.95 4.48 5.62 2.61 2.19 2.35 17 9.45 11 8.7 3.27 122 5.37 1,355 0.87 45.85 83 8.22 1.85 1.17 0.54 5 0.77 11.8

14 24.3 0.475 0.044 13 5.05 9.37 0.054 70.5 8.4 6.65 6.75 2.08 27.5 910 1,660 5.36 270 3.35 2.09 79.55 12.98 0.135 2.79 3.54 14.68 4.25 1.02 24 4.25 5.53 2.57 2.1 2.1 17 9.29 11 8.7 3.13 121.5 5.32 1,327 0.84 45.2 82.5 8.02 1.81 1.13 0.5 4.97 0.75 11.5

SERVICES 14.22 24.95 0.475 0.044 13.72 5.05 9.44 0.054 71.1 8.98 6.65 6.75 2.08 28.15 910 1,709 5.37 280 3.6 2.09 81 12.98 0.137 2.89 3.6 14.68 4.32 1.03 24.1 4.32 5.55 2.58 2.16 2.25 17 9.41 11 8.7 3.27 121.5 5.36 1,355 0.85 45.2 83 8.21 1.81 1.13 0.52 5 0.75 11.6

28,800 108,200 4,250,000 3,500,000 256,200 2,900 1,084,800 5,220,000 72,100 2,000 5,463,400 2,700 16,000 780,800 50 18,625 72,600 6,120 3,675,000 5,000 573,670 300 9,060,000 5,983,000 91,000 1,200 1,172,000 152,000 1,357,300 69,000 1,792,300 1,828,000 479,000 119,000 5,000 2,345,700 3,300 1,600 13,000 940 87,300 43,775 1,271,000 284,200 322,560 35,000 12,023,000 1,201,000 67,186,000 2,064,000 1,890,000 1,742,800

408,774 2,696,800 2,054,400 154,000 3,332,238 14,645 10,256,678 286,090 5,126,292.50 17,380 36,693,540 18,225 33,280 22,415,370 45,500 31,698,625 390,691 1,670,866 13,047,520 10,450 46,490,207 3,894 1,240,530 17,170,370 331,580 17,648 5,052,170 156,300 32,826,615 302,010 9,950,570 4,745,230 1,019,910 256,600 85,000 22,015,964 36,300 13,920 41,590 114,480 466,742 59,128,835 1,078,100 12,860,800 26,739,686.50 285,197 21,776,030 1,365,070 35,070,260 10,301,020 1,434,270 20,247,998

-28,600 4,050 -4,363,543 -1,499,994.50 -33,489,249 89,700 4,900,790 85,610 12,451,673 5,220 32,670 8,570.00 9,180 2,060,920 3,201,734 -12,920 2,300 -453,374 -102,310 16,050.00 11,348,115 -398,930 -8,901,160 -13,669,410.50 128,820 70,540.00 -152,300 -291,100 -14,334,684

ABRA MINING APEX MINING ATLAS MINING ATOK BENGUET A BENGUET B CENTURY PEAK COAL ASIA HLDG DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE LEPANTO A MARCVENTURES NICKEL ASIA NIHAO ORNTL PENINSULA ORNTL PETROL A PHILODRILL PHINMA PETRO PX MINING PXP ENERGY SEMIRARA MINING

0.0025 1.43 3.93 22.75 1.46 1.48 1.8 0.3 7.41 2.1 0.216 0.122 1.5 4.34 1.24 1.13 0.012 0.012 3.06 4.43 9.93 31.8

0.0025 1.45 3.94 22.75 1.46 1.48 1.88 0.3 7.75 2.11 0.222 0.123 1.54 4.35 1.24 1.19 0.012 0.012 3.21 4.45 9.94 31.9

0.0024 1.42 3.93 21.5 1.45 1.47 1.78 0.3 7.38 2.09 0.212 0.121 1.5 4.3 1.18 1.13 0.012 0.011 2.89 4.35 9.88 31.1

MINING & OIL 0.0024 28,000,000 1.44 438,000 3.93 62,000 21.9 14,300 1.45 20,000 1.47 264,000 1.86 5,696,000 0.3 100,000 7.75 1,300 2.11 823,000 0.222 260,000 0.123 2,630,000 1.51 34,000 4.3 285,000 1.21 706,000 1.16 3,455,000 0.012 1,900,000 0.012 25,500,000 2.9 3,242,000 4.36 175,000 9.9 315,100 31.65 1,103,900

69,900 625,690 244,250 315,005 29,010 389,170 10,498,460 30,000 9,649 1,729,210 55,470 320,730 51,340 1,230,350 845,280 3,996,960 22,800 303,200 10,012,290 768,980 3,120,306 34,858,055

-15,750 4,300 -101,400 -136,790 -314,680 -14,040 33,930 -35,520 -285,136 -10,092,285

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 DD PREF FGEN PREF F GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

20.5 502 505 101.5 102 501 5.19 970 100.3 1.03 105 1,030 76 79 75.1 75.15 75.5 75.5

20.5 502 505 101.5 102 501 5.2 970 100.3 1.03 105 1,030 76 79.05 75.1 75.3 75.5 75.5

19.54 502 505 101.1 102 501 5.11 970 99.3 1.02 104.5 1,030 76 79 75.1 75.15 75.5 75.35

PREERRED 19.6 502 505 101.5 102 501 5.11 970 99.3 1.02 104.5 1,030 76 79 75.1 75.25 75.5 75.35

18,131,897 502,000 1,494,800 1,826,200 49,980 1,252,500 211,307 2,124,300 1,998,103 1,091,760 8,385 808,550 471,200 1,124,185 285,380 2,055,040 397,130 958,700

-6,007,479 -196,759 496,500 -

LR WARRANT

2.41

2.57

2.4

WARRANTS 2.57 757,000

1,893,700

12,350

ITALPINAS XURPAS

5.11 3.15

5.17 3.29

5 3.14

5.11 3.15

3,862,340 14,045,210

-109,259 -169,440

FIRST METRO ETF

110.3

110.5

110

MS

PROPERTY 7.33 0.96 14.98 1.95 0.71 37.4 3.23 4.59 5.9 0.435 0.92 0.89 0.221 0.405 8.74 25.05 0.61 1.45 1.23 1.39 4.49 0.62 0.44 0.5

57,800 2,896,000 1,100 2,000 155,000 7,792,500 233,000 23,000 6,400 480,000 4,000 83,000 710,000 120,000 433,400 1,098,700 1,000 6,412,000 645,000 2,337,000 2,569,000 19,596,000 2,730,000 979,000

422,425 2,747,390 16,486 3,900 110,290 291,499,505 732,760 106,990 37,510 206,700 3,640 73,980 154,870 48,500 3,799,416 27,556,965 610 9,285,270 790,220 3,273,540 11,547,030 11,976,150 1,215,750 498,640

-84,972 -45,043,790.00 61,350 4,350 -34,950 -52,630 -2,385,585 -757,210 25,380 -3,905,840 17,080 -36,640

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

OPEN

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

13,276,217

INDUSTRIAL

56,607,982

HOLDING FIRMS

101,399,919

PROPERTY

63,985,522

SERVICES

140,581,830

MINING & OIL

75,032,321

GRAND TOTAL

456,020,361

SME

914,700 1,000 2,960 18,000 490 2,500 41,300 2,190 20,110 1,062,000 80 785 6,200 14,230 3,800 27,300 5,260 12,700

764,300 4,364,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 110 8,060

887,571

5,506

VALUE 1,823.2 (down) -0.63 1,022,451,789.37 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,515.49 (up) 44.76 678,855,239.27 HOLDING FIRMS 7,230.25 (down) -19.5 687,999,240.73 PROPERTY 3,596.15 (up) 7.04 1,443.23 (up) 14.04 596,233,078.41 SERVICES MINING & OIL 9,658.62 (down) -1.03 511,167,247.095 PSEI 7,381.68 (up) 12.24 69,537,246.44 All Shares Index 4,465.38 (up) 2.78 3,585,040,395.98 Gainers: 91; Losers: 90; Unchanged: 55; Total: 236

PSBank gets nod to issue P15b worth of time deposits

By Julito G. Rada PHILIPPINE Savings Bank, the thrift bank unit of the Metrobank Group, is expected to proceed soon with its planned issuance of P15 billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of time deposits after securing the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

“Philippine Savings Bank recently got approval from the BSP for its longterm negotiable certificates of time deposit [LTNCTD] issuance of up to P15 billion,” the bank disclosed to the stock exchange on Tuesday.

The bank’s board on May 21 approved the issuance of LTNCDs through two or more tranches over a period of one year. The issuance will give PSBank an opportunity to gain access to long-term funding as the bank further expands its consumer banking business.

LTNCDs are bank products with long tenors which are offered to investors looking for a higher interest rate compared with regular savings accounts or shorter-term deposits. They are tax-exempt for qualified individuals if held for at least five years.

LTNCDs are insured by Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. up to a maximum coverage per depositor, currently at P500,000.

PSBank earlier said the final terms, including offering period and interest rates, would depend on market conditions.

PSBank’s net income in the first quarter jumped 25 percent to P641.1 million from P511.1 million a year ago on strong revenues composed of net interest margin and other operating income.

PSBank posted a double-digit growth of 15 percent in total operating income year-on-year to P3.7 billion from P3.2 billion.

Total loan portfolio rose 11.7 percent to P149.2 billion, driven by the bank’s consumer loan business. Total resources expanded to P224.8 billion, up 9.4 percent year-on-year while deposits rose 9.2 percent to P186 billion.

STI Holdings says income down by 9.9% to P502.8m

By Jenniffer B. Austria STI Holdings Inc., owner of one of the biggest networks of private schools in the country, said net income income dipped 9.9 percent to P502.8 million in the year ending March 2018 from ₱558.4 million a year ago.

STI in a disclosure to the stock exchange attributed the decline largely to the substantial increase in interest expenses from the P3-billion bond offering of unit STI Education Services Group.

Revenues reached P3 billion, up five percent from P2.93 billion a year ago, as its schools managed to sustain positive enrollment numbers for the academic year 2017-2018.

STI Holdings follows an April-toMarch fiscal year mirroring the academic cycle in the Philippines since the bulk of its income comes from education services.

A total of 105,031 students for school year 2017-2018 enrolled in schools within the company’s network, up by 1,304 from 103,727 students in the previous school year. Senior high school students make up 55 percent of the total student population, while college students in Commission on Higher Education programs account for 42 percent.

STI-ESG in 2017 issued P3 billion in fixed rate bonds out of its P5-billion bond shelf registration approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It used the proceeds from the bond offering to expand STI ESG campuses, refinance short-term loans incurred for the acquisition of land, and other general corporate requirements.

STI ESG acquired parcels of land in Lipa City and Legazpi City valued at ₱99.1 million and ₱76.4 million, respectively, as part of the company’s aggressive expansion program.

World IN BRIEF 100 years since Manila murder Standard of last czar TODAY

YEKATERINBURG, Russia―Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Tuesday led some 100,000 people in a night time procession marking 100 years since the Bolsheviks shot dead czar Nicholas II and his family after he abdicated, authorities said on Tuesday.

The powerful church leader led the procession that began in the early hours of Tuesday from the murder site to a monastery commemorating the victims outside the city of Yekaterinburg just east of the Ural mountains.

Another 20,000 people joined the commemorations when the procession arrived at the monastery in Ganina Yama after covering the distance of 21 kilometers.

The monastery was built to honor the site where the burned bodies of the last Russian czar and his family were thrown after their execution in the aftermath of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, regional authorities said.

The Bolsheviks shot the abdicated czar, his German-born wife and their five children along with their servants and doctor on the night from July 16 to 17, 1918 as they were living under guard in the Urals city of Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg.

Addressing the pilgrims, Patriarch Kirill said Russia should draw lessons “from this difficult and bitter experience.”

“We truly should have lasting immunity against any ideas and any leaders who call on us to embrace some new, unknown happy future through the destruction of our life, our traditions and our faith,” he said in a thinly veiled dig at the opposition to President Vladimir Putin. AFP

Iran complains over US sanctions TEHRAN―Iran has lodged a complaint with the International Court of Justice against the United States’ re-imposition of sanctions, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The complaint was registered the previous day, spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said on the ministry’s website.

The goal is “to hold [the] US accountable for its unlawful re-imposition of unilateral sanctions,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter.

“Iran is committed to the rule of law in the face of US contempt for diplomacy and legal obligations. It’s imperative to counter its habit of violating [international] law,” he added.

The complaint came in response to Washington’s decision in May to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran.

Tehran says the action violates international obligations, including the 1955 US-Iran Treaty of Amity―an agreement signed well before Iran’s 1979 revolution, but which is still invoked in ongoing legal battles.

Iran and the US have not had diplomatic relations since 1980, when American embassy officials were held hostage in Tehran.

Nuclear-related sanctions will be reimposed

by Washington in two phases in August and November, seeking to bar European and other foreign companies from doing business with Iran and blocking its oil sales abroad. AFP Iran and the other signatories to the 2015 agreement have been scrambling to preserve the limited trade deals they were able to secure since it was signed. AFP

B3

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Trump denounced as ‘shameful’ W CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

ASHINGTON―Donald Trump returned late Monday from his European tour to face ire in Washington, where US intelligence officials and senior Republicans were denouncing the president as “shameful” and “disgraceful” after he refused to challenge Russian leader Vladimir Putin over Russia’s interference in the American elections.

Republican Senator John McCain said Trump’s seeming acceptance of Putin’s denial was a historical “low point” for the US presidency and the Helsinki summit between the two leaders a “tragic mistake.”

“Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naivete, egotism, false equivalence, and

sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate,” McCain said in a blistering statement.

“No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.”

Taking direct issue with the president who appointed him, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said US spy agencies had been “clear” and “fact-based” in their assessment that Moscow interfered in the presidential race two years ago―an assessment that Trump refused to endorse in Helsinki.

Coats added that Russia remained behind “ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy.”

Trump stunned US political allies and foes alike with his answer to a question about Russian hacking and interference in the 2016 election that saw him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Putin “just said it is not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be,” Trump said.

That came three days after the US Justice Department indicted 12 Russians for hacking Democratic Party computers, the latest in a series of actions taken by the US government since late 2016 in retribution for what intelligence agencies say was a broad plan to support Trump’s election campaign directed by Putin himself.

Yet Trump appeared to take Putin’s word in dismissing that conclusion.

“I have great confidence in my intelligence people.

But I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”

Trump also appeared to embrace Putin’s offer to have Russian investigators work together with US prosecutors on the case of the 12 just indicted.

“I think that’s an incredible offer.”

Astonished Republicans and Democrats uniformly condemned Trump, with harsh criticism coming even from hosts on Fox News -- a network normally friendly to the president.

“The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally,” said Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.

“There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals,” he said.

Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Trump’s answer on meddling “will be seen by Russia as a sign of weakness.”

Bent on forging a personal bond with the Kremlin chief, Trump headed into the summit blaming the “stupidity” of his predecessors for plunging ties to their present low. AFP

HK police seek landmark ban on pro-independence party HONG KONG―Police in Hong Kong on Tuesday sought to ban a political party that promotes independence for the city, citing it as a potential national security threat as Beijing increases the pressure on the challenges to its territorial sovereignty.

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland including freedom of expression but concern is growing those rights are under serious threat from an assertive China under President Xi Jinping.

It is the first time such a ban has been sought since Britain handed the sovereignty of Hong Kong back to China in

1997, and is the latest move to stifle any calls for independence, which have infuriated Chinese authorities.

Hong Kong’s secretary for security John Lee said Tuesday he was considering the request made by the police to ban the Hong Kong National Party, one of the leading groups calling for the city’s independence from China.

“In Hong Kong we have freedom of association, but that right is not without restriction,” Lee told reporters.

Questioned how the Hong Kong National Party was damaging national security, Lee said he could not comment on the details.

However, he added that under Hong Kong law, national security meant safeguarding the “territorial integrity and the independence of the People’s Republic of China”.

Lee said he would give the party 21 days to make representations.

High-profile democracy activist Joshua Wong, co-founder of a political party advocating self-determination for Hong Kong, accused the government of following “Beijing’s hard-line path” and trying to break up any group advocating a high degree of autonomy for the city.

Amnesty International described the potential ban as a “worrying sign” that

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES CORPORATION 11-B Sunrise Drive. Brgy. Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Cubao, Quezon City

Notice of Stocksholders’ Meeting

PREMIERE.

Hailie Sahar arrives at the premiere of FX’s ‘Snowfall’ Season 2 at Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 on July 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Vietnam withdraws license of news site

To All ERC Stockholders: Please be informed that the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting of Educational Resources Corporation shall be held on July 28, 2018; 12:00 noon at Marco Polo Hotel, Meralco Ave. San Antonio, Pasig City to take up the following matters.

1. Election of new directors for the incoming fiscal year; 2. Report of the President; and 3. Other relevant matters Please be guided accordingly.

HANOI―A popular Vietnamese news website has been suspended and fined about $10,000 after it was accused of publishing false information, as the communist government quashes any perceived criticism.

The one-party state controls most media and has jailed activists and bloggers critical of the government, but revoking licences is rare.

The Ministry of Information and Communication said in an announcement Monday that the state-owned Tuoi Tre Online misquoted President Tran Dai Quang in an article in June that had him endorsing the idea of a law on demonstrations.

In a separate report last year on highway development, the comments posted on the site had also contributed to undermining “national unity”, the announcement said.

The report on the president came days after scores were detained in June, following sometimes violent protests in several cities against the planned special economic zones seen as opening the door to land takeovers by China.

An American-Vietnamese citizen arrested during the crackdown is expected to face trial this week.

The demonstrations were not mentioned in the order from the ministry, which said the outlet must pay a fine, surrender its licence for three months, publish a correction and issue an apology.

“Tuoi Tre Online must seriously obey this decision,” the ministry said.

The newspaper connected with the site published a note Tuesday in print saying it would comply with the order.

“Tuoi Tre Online will have to say good bye to our readers for three months, starting July 16,” it said. AFP

(Sgd) Atty. LACANDOLA S. LEAÑO Corporate Secretary (MS-JULY 18 & 20, 2018)

Republic of the Philippines Department of Health CENTRAL OFFICE BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE Request foR expRession of inteRest pRocuRement of consulting seRvices foR the conduct of the RpRh law fifth YeaR implementation Review Rei-cs-gop-2018-012 1.

The Department of Health (DOH), through the General Appropriations Act of 2018 intends to apply the sum of Ten Million Philippine Pesos (PhP10,000,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payment under the contract for the Procurement of Consulting Services for the Conduct of the RPRH Law Fifth Year Implementation Review under REI-CS-GOP-2018-012. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the opening of the financial proposal.

2.

The DOH now calls for the submission of eligibility documents for the Procurement of Consulting Services for the Conduct of the RPRH Law Fifth Year Implementation Review under REI-CS-GOP-2018-012. Eligibility documents of interested individual consultant must be duly received by the COBAC B Secretariat on or before July 25, 2018, 9:00 A.M. at the COBAC Conference Room, G/F, Building 6, Department of Health, San Lazaro Compound, Sta. Cruz, Manila. Applications for eligibility will be evaluated based on a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion

3.

Interested consulting firm may obtain further information from the COBAC Secretariat, G/F, Building 6, Department of Health, San Lazaro Compound, Sta. Cruz, Manila and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given above during 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday.

4.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on July 25-September 5, 2018 from the address above and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Ten Thousand Philippine Pesos (PhP10,000.00).

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

5.

Rolls-Royce unveils hybrid flying taxi at airshow FARNBOROUGH―British engine maker Rolls-Royce revealed plans this week to develop a hybrid electric vehicle, dubbed the “flying taxi”, which takes off and lands vertically and could be airborne within five years.

The London-listed aerospace giant, which is based in Derby in central England, showed off the plans at the Farnborough Airshow for the first time, as other players also rush into the market segment.

Rolls said it hoped to manufacture a prototype version of its electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) vehicle within the next 18 months, and could potentially take to the skies in the early 2020s.

The Rolls-Royce EVTOL plane will seat four or five people, with a flying range of 805 kilometers and a top speed of 200 miles per hour.

“In this market, you will see something like this flying within three to five years, and we will

authorities were trying to restrict freedom of association and expression.

The ban has been requested under the city’s Societies Ordinance, which stipulates groups can be prohibited in the interests of national security and public safety.

Pro-democracy lawmaker and barrister Alvin Yeung said the ordinance was first established to crack down on Hong Kong’s illegal triad gangs, not political organizations.

A national security bill known as Article 23 was shelved in 2003 after half a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong over concerns it would curb their freedoms. AFP

demonstrate the system in two years,” said Rob Watson, head of Rolls-Royce’s electrical team.

“At the end of next year we will be flight ready,” he told AFP at the group’s Farnborough chalet.

The hybrid vehicle, which has so far cost single-digit millions of pounds to develop, will use a traditional gas turbine engine with an electrical system wrapped around it.

Rolls-Royce is also researching an all-electric product but that is not as advanced as the EVTOL offering.

“There is an emerging market for all-electric planes but we believe that you need a level of requirement that an all electric system cannot really provide today,” Watson told AFP. “So, all-electric is the way to hop around within a city, but if you want to travel 200 or 300 miles, if you want to run London to Paris, then you are going to want to run something

that will give you that range.

“So we think you will see hybrid propulsion systems starting to make this market.”

Rolls is not alone in the hybrid “flying taxi” marketplace.

Other companies researching the sector include US taxi-hailing company Uber, the Google-backed Kitty Hawk project, Lilium Aviation in Germany, Safran in France, and Honeywell in the United States.

The aerospace sector’s push into electric propulsion has drawn comparisons with the automotive industry, where electric cars are gaining ground in terms of popularity and performance.

“Think of it like the car industry. Historically everybody had an internal combustion engine. over time you add more electric capability to it and then you start to see electric cars,” added Watson. AFP

The COBAC shall draw up the short list of consultants from those who have submitted Expression of Interest, including the eligibility documents, and have been determined as eligible in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). The criteria and rating system for short listing are: a) b) c)

6.

Applicable Experience of the Firm/Consultant (60%) Qualification of Personnel/Key Team Members (35%) Current Work Load Relative to Capacity (5%)

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the IRR of R.A. 9184.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, cooperatives, and partnerships or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

7.

8.

9.

The Procuring Entity shall evaluate bids using the Quality Cost-Based Evaluation (QCBE) procedure. The Procuring Entity shall indicate the weights to be allocated for the Technical and Financial Proposals. The criteria and rating system for the evaluation of bids shall be provided in the Instructions to Bidders.

The contract shall be completed within one (1) year.

The DOH reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

10. For further information, please refer to: COBAC-B SECRETARIAT Department of Health San Lazaro Compound, Sta. Cruz, Manila 1003 Tel. No. 651-7800 Loc. 1625 – 1627; Telefax No. 711-6061 Email Add: cobac.secretariat.cf@gmail.com and/or darabi@doh.gov.

Website: www.doh.gov.ph; July 16, 2018 (Date of Issue)

(MS-JULY 18, 2018)

(SGD) MARIA ROSARIO S. VERGEIRE, MD, MPH CESO IV Assistant Secretary of Health COBAC-B Chairperson

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

B4

Joy: QC teachers not targeted by mandatory tests

By Rio N. Araja

LocaL government units

wednesday, july 18, 2018

OPLAN GALUGAD. Quezon City Jail Warden Supt. Emirlito Moral (inset) displays the confiscated improvised deadly weapons, cellphones and other illegal items seized during inspections for the Operation Greyhound ‘Oplan Galugad’ at the jail— to prevent illegal drugs and gang wars between inmates—on Tuesday.

Manny Palmero

Makati wins global GIS award Fire guts Mega Q-Mart; ‘Henry’ rains douse blaze A FIRE hit the 50-year-old Mega Q-Mart along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue and Ermin Garcia Street in Cubao, Quezon City on Tuesday at 4:44 am.

Cornelio de Guzman, part-owner and administrator of the private market, said the fire could have started from a plugged phone charger that overheated in one of the stalls selling footwear and phone accessories.

The fire spread quickly to the dry goods section and administration office facing the Ramon Magsaysay High School in Cubao.

The fire reached the fourth alarm before being contained at 5:38 a.m.

Sr. Supt. Manuel M. Manuel of the Bureau of Fire Protection said the monsoon rains brought about by Tropical Storm “Henry” had helped douse the fire.

Authorities are still digging deeper into the cause of the blaze.

No one was reported hurt.

According to De Guzman, the prized possessions of co-owner of Alvin Tan, including highly valuable turntables, amplifiers, speakers and long playing albums, and Mega Q-Mart’s records and documents were all eaten up by the fire. Rio N. Araja

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE Environmental Systems Research Institute has named the Makati City government as the recipient of this year´s Special Achievement in Geographic Information System Award during the 38th Esri User Conference held at the San Diego Convention Center in California, USA. The City of Makati under the administration of Mayor Abigail Binay is the only local government unit in the Philippines to receive the award for its exemplary use of Geographic Information System technology in local governance.

The seven other local government unit awardees were from Canada, Sweden, Finland, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Kuwait, and New Zealand.

The annual recognition given by Esri aims to honor organizations for their vision, leadership, hard work, and innovative use of its GIS technology, and to

recognize their extraordinary contributions to society. Esri is based in California, USA with hundreds of partner organizations around the world.

Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, presented the award last July 12 to some 175 organizations around the world, including Makati and seven other local government units from other countries.

The award, according to Esri, aims ¨to show appreciation for their use of spatial analytics technology to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges.”

Mayor Binay thanked Esri for the recognition, saying it was a “most welcome development as the city’s digital transformation gathers momentum.”

“I am very thankful to Esri for recognizing my administration’s efforts to harness modern technology to improve governance and bring government closer to the people. The SAG Award is a testament to our sincere commitment to make Makati a Smarter City and the country’s First Digital City,” she said.

GIS is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. It is a tool used in mapping and integrating many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes. With this unique capability, GIS reveals deeper insights into data, such as patterns, relationships and situations, helping users make smarter decisions.

BIKE-FRIENDLY. SM City Marikina recently launched ‘Pedal Faculty’ that showcased a rare display of historic and emerging trends of 60 vintage bicycle units in celebration of SM’s 60th anniversary.

In photo are (from left) SM City mall manager Don Edward Vijandre, SM senior AVP Ronald Allan Brosas, and Marikina Vice Mayor Jose Fabian Cadiz.

Norman Cruz

ZamPen native chicken dishes take center stage in ‘Fiesta’ event

By Butch Gunio ZAMBOANGA CITY—The “ZamPen” native chicken dishes took center stage during a two-day Farmers Science and Technology Agenda event here hosted by the Western Mindanao Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Research and Development Consortium.

Four popular restaurants and hotels in this

city competed in the much-awaited “Cucina a la ZamPen Native Chicken” contest held at Western Mindanao State University.

Marcian Garden Hotel emerged the winner with its Native Organic Chicken with Sibul and Panera Soup dish. Second place went to Barcode Restaurant with its Chicken Diadaran.

Consolation prizes for the contest using Zamboanga Peninsula chicken went

to Garden Orchid Hotel for its Pollo Ala Espanola, and LM Metro Hotel for its Jori-Jori Native Chicken Stew.

Native chicken like ZamPen is tasty because of the concentration of free amino acids, said Dr. Synan Baguio, officer in charge of the Philippine Council for Agriculture Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development’s Livestock Research Division.

Dr. Teresita Narvaez, WMSU Vice President for Resource Generation and Consortium Director, said they want delicious ZamPen chicken dishes to be offered in all hotels and restaurants in this city.

Other FIESTA activities here included science and technology business forums, technology matching, photography and poster-making contests, and presentations.

QUEZON City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Tuesday assured teachers that the mandatory drug test program for teachers in public schools is part of the government’s campaign to ensure all government employees are not engaging in illegal drug use or trade.

“This is mandatory for all government employees. Even [Education] Secretary Leonor Briones went through a drug test as well as all the undersecretaries. I, too, took the drug test and even Mayor Herbert Bautista,” she said.

Belmonte clarified that teachers are not being singled out in the national campaign against illegal drugs.

On July 6, the city’s public school teachers staged a protest in front of Quezon City hall to demand the release of their delayed allowances.

They also expressed objection to a mandatory drug test, saying such was an “insult to their profession.”

“We just want to comply with the requirement that all government employees are drug-free. We assure you that if you are found positive, all information is strictly confidential and private,” Belmonte said.

She said the city government is working with the Department of Education to arrange a date for an orientation to answer all the queries of teachers.

Coca-Cola lauds Negros partners, sees bright future COCA-COLA Philippines recently celebrated its partnership with sugar industry stakeholders, Negros Occidental government, and their sustainability program partners, who are all key to the continuous growth of the beverage brand’s socioeconomic footprint in the province.

Coca-Cola Philippines president and general manager Winn Everhart expressed his gratitude for their partners’ invaluable support and reiterated their commitment of the soft drink brand to their partners toward the future.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the various partners of Coca-Cola Philippines in helping us reach our goals of empowering the different points of our value chain,” Everhart said.

He cited “the farmers who plant sugarcane, the women micro-entrepreneurs who bring our products closer to the public, or the communities that benefit” from the firm’s water access program and schoolhouses.

“We look forward to continue working with you as we continue to refresh the lives of our valued communities,” said Everhart.

The company has been a long-time partner of the Negros region, even establishing a bottling facility in 1998 that utilizes 100 percent local sugar.

Over the years, the facility has become one of the largest taxpayers and employers of the province.

Apart from growing the business of Coca-Cola in Negros, the brand also continues to strengthen its footprint in the communities through sustainability programs.

For the Agos Water Access Program, Coca-Cola Philippines has partnered with Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, for the development of self-sustaining and low maintenance water facilities such as ram pumps and rain catchment mechanisms. The organization recently developed water gaskets using the recyclable plastic caps of Coca-Cola bottles.

Another high-impact sustainability program of Coca-Cola is the 5by20 Sari-sari Store Training and Access to Resources Program. Impacting over 15,000 women micro-entrepreneurs, the success of the STAR Program was made possible in partnership with Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

GenTri cops conduct anti-drug seminar GENERAL TRIAS CITY—Local police led by city police chief Supt. Paul Bometivo, in cooperation with Mayor Antonio “Ony” Ferrer, recently held a one-day seminar on Community Mobilization Program, Drug Clearing Program and SIPAG Program at the General Trias Cultural and Convention Center in Barangay Sampalucan here.

Around 500 participants from 33 local barangays composed of village chiefs, kagawads, tanods, members of Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council and PNP personnel attended the program.

The police discussed about the Community Mobilization Program, they also talked about the parameters of “ComMob” and how a barangay can be certified as Mobilized Barangay by the Regional Headquarters.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in

Calabarzon led by Mary Ann Loranzo discussed the Barangay Drug Clearing Program, She also discussed drug awareness and the role of BADAC, and the parameters of certain barangay be certified as Drug Cleared Barangay.

As of now, only four out of 33 barangay cleared form drugs, these are Barangay Dulong Bayan, 1896, Bagumbayan and Governor Ferrer with PDEA certificate, according to Supt. Bometivo.

“We’re still in process of clearing for the 29 other barangays with the help of respective barangays, we will do our best to clean the remaining barangays,” he added.

Dr. Jonathan Luseco, City Health Officer, and Bengky Generoso, City Social Welfare Officer, also presented their plans and programs to the community rehabilitation program for persons who use illegal drugs.

NBI IN GENTRI. National Bureau of Investigation Director lawyer Dante Gierran (center) joins General Trias City Mayor Antonio ‘Ony’ Ferrer (third from left) and Cavite 6th District Rep. Luis ‘Jon-Jon’ Ferrer IV (fourth from right) in the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new NBI Satellite Clearance Center at the third Floor of the Lingkod Pinoy Center at Robinson’s Place in Tejero, General Trias. Others in photo are (from left) Councilor Vivencio Lozares Jr., Vice Mayor Morit Sison, Robinson’s GenTri Operations manager Maricel Ramirez, NBI Deputy Director for ICTS lawyer Jose Yap, and Robinson’s Land Corp. operations director for Luzon Irving Wu.

Life

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife @MStandardLIFE

fashion and beauty

wEdnESday, juLy 18, 2018

C1

LARGE YET LIGHT. Italian luxury fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna presents its summer 2019 collection that features capacious and airy silhouttes made of layers of light fabrics.

Weightless volume a

LessanDro sartori keeps perfecting his vision of the contemporary metropolitan wardrobe, fusing the performance and speed of sports with the refinement, attention to detail, and precious fabrications of couture tailoring.

The creative director of italian luxury fashion house ermenegildo Zegna presents a collection for summer 2019 that marries sharpness and functional ease with a pervading sense of lightness.

This season, ermenegildo Zegna challenges technique and image even more.

The silhouettes are capacious and airy; the mix of elements bold and personal.

“Creation for me always stems from a technical challenge. i am presenting shapes that are bold and voluminous, yet very light, in layers of meshes, wools, silks,” says sartori. shirts and jackets collide in hybrid

forms, with an oversize fit, experimental collars, and playful double sleeves.

Bombers and anoraks, on the other hand, are matched with tailored highwaisted double pleat trousers, completely rewriting the template of the suit. Parkas both long and short gain the airiness of a shirt.

Degradè checks and souvenir prints add rhythm, while perforation and meshes provide an even airy feel. in keeping with the morphing of categories, sneakers and sandals feature opanka constructions combined with the technical details and meshes of

HEADTURNER. Match a colorful headscarf with statement accessories for a modern-day diva look.

Wrap your head around this style Fashion icons Grace Kelly, Jackie o, and audrey hepburn made headscarves an iconic item in the past. Today, this fabric accessory is on a comeback trail, re-emerging in the Fall 2018 runways in new York, London, Milan, and Paris. at Gucci, babushka inspired head coverings, turbans, and niqab-like veils punctuated the runway; while at Versace, tightly wound headscarves served to visually elevate the dresses they were paired with.

Marc Jacobs sent models with their hair tucked underneath black, hijablike garments tied around their chin.

in Dior’s Fall 2018 runway, a handful of catwalkers heightened their scarves with a baker-boy cap.

There are endless ways to wrap your style around with headscarves. sM accessories offers a variety of styles—from colorful and vibrant to silk and metallic scarves—and several prints and patterns: geometric, floral, paisley and stripes for its range of headscarves. sM accessories also has beaded bracelets, statement earrings, and elegant clutches to complete looks featuring this charming accessory.

These scarves and other accessories are available at all SM Stores nationwide.

Alessandro Sartori focuses on creating a metropolitan wardrobe that fuses sports performance with couture tailoring.

sport style, all of it on bold soles.

The juxtaposition and addition of elements is enhanced by the color palette which places side by side shades and nuances in variations of intensity. The amalgamation of pale blue, Tropea pink, bow green, desert, sunflower yellow, mocha, nautical blue, and loganberry red is painterly and individual.

Fabrics merge the technical with the refined: Century Cashmere with a waterproof membrane; textured Tussah silk produced by Lanificio Zegna using yarns obtained from wild, natural sources; blends of silk and cotton, cotton-linen satin, tumbled wool, perforated or embossed baby-calf mesh.

In the Philippines, Ermenegildo Zegna is located at Greenbelt 4 and Rustan’s Makati.

Life

C2

wednesday, ju juLy 18, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

e

5 skin allergy facts you need to know

VeR try a new moisturizer that only gave you red itchy skin instead of the promised dewy glow?

No matter how great a beauty product may seem or how many individuals vouch for it, skin reactions or contact dermatitis can happen. If you’ve experienced a bad skin reaction, you’re not alone. Studies show that one in three people have allergy symptoms like contact dermatitis.

In support of National Allergy Day on July 8, natural personal care and cosmetics brand Human Nature lists down five allergy facts all beauty junkies, or anyone who uses skin care and beauty products, need to know:

Homegrown label Human Nature offers a wide range of hypoallergenic and mild personal care and cosmetics products, such as (from left) Acne Defense trio, Pollution Defense Facial Mask, Bare Necessity Cleansing Balm, and Sunflower Beauty Oil Luxe.

Caring for your skin requires knowing to which products you’re allergic.

Fact 1: Skin reactions or contact dermatitis have two categories: irritant and allergic.

When a product causes immediate harm to the skin barrier, irritation can happen at the surface of the skin. Skin irritations are characterized by any of the following: burning sensation, redness, flaking, and itchiness. Meanwhile, allergic reactions build up over a long period of time and are the immune system’s response to what it perceives as substances (pathogens) that are attacking the body.

Some face cleansers may deliver a slight tingling sensation. However certain chemicals inside products can be too strong for delicate skin types, resulting in a painful burning sensation.

If stinging and redness have become part of your face care routine, you need to switch to milder products.

Human Nature has hypoallergenic products that are ideal for sensitive skin. Start your cleansing routine with Bare Necessity Cleansing Balm, a gentle virgin coconut oil-based makeup remover. Follow up with tomato extractenriched Nourishing Facial Wash and Nourishing Face Toner for sting-free facial cleansing and toning. The brand’s Acne Defense Solution Gel, Acne Defense Facial Wash, and Acne Defense Tone are also hypoallergenic.

potential allergens. At least 23 percent of women and 13.8 percent of men reported an adverse reaction to a personal care product over the course of a year, a 2004 study conducted by Amersham Hospital in the United Kingdom revealed.

“Allergic reactions are triggered by allergens. Some people can be allergic to natural ingredients like lavender while some can be allergic to chemical ingredients. That’s why it’s important to check product labels closely before using anything new on your skin,” emphasizes Rushelle Aguirre, Human Nature’s research and testing head.

Human Nature products that have been clinically-tested as allergenfree bear the hypoallergenic seal on the brand’s website. Its bestselling top-to-toe miracle workers Sunf lower Beauty Oil and Sunf lower Beauty Oil Luxe also bear the hypoallergenic seal.

Fact 3: The dry flakes on your hair and scalp could be caused by your shampoo.

Most synthetic shampoos use sulfates as lathering agents. Sulfates are harsh detergents that can dry out the scalp and cause it to itch and flake. When flakes appear, most people will reach for the anti-dandruff shampoo, which usually has antimicrobial agents like selenium sulfide that can further dry out and irFact 2: Skin irritations can ritate the scalp. be triggered by contact The natural alternative to anti-danwith common cosmetic druff shampoo in reducing flakes and ingredients. relieving itchiness is Pure Jojoba Oil. It is important to read the label of In a consumer panel test, 96 percent every product carefully and check for of users experienced reduced dan-

druff in less than five weeks. Jojoba oil also works as great skin soother: use a drop on your face to nourish dry or soothe irritated skin.

In addition, jojoba oil contains wax esters similar to skin’s natural sebum-the oily, waxy substance that the skin produces. When used on the face, jojoba oil helps prevent the overproduction of sebum, making it suitable for oily and acne-prone skin.

Fact 4: Air pollution can make your skin more prone to irritation.

Regular exposure to air pollutants (aka your daily commute) can lead to inf lammatory or allergic skin conditions. As such, it’s not surprising that skin irritation is more common among residents of urban areas like Metro Manila.

The good thing is, you can help your skin recover with regular care: slather on Pollution Defense Face Mask two to three times a week to combat the effects of air pollutants and remove deep-seated oil and dirt.

Fact 5: A patch test could save your life.

“If there is an allergic reaction and the cause is not known, it is best to see a doctor to determine what the cause of the allergy is,” explains Aguirre. She adds that if in doubt, going to a dermatologist for a patch test is advisable. Those with sensitive skin are also advised to test a product on a small area of skin for 24 hours or more before using on the whole face or body.

40 years of celebrating beauty

The Body Yogurt Body Care collection consists of four flavors (British Rose, Strawberry, Moringa, and Almond Milk) and one limited edition variant (Banana).

The Body Shop

launches yogurt moisturizer

SKIN-caring brand The Body Shop has launched a body moisturizer made for warm weather and for people always on the go.

The Body Yogurt Body Care collection is a 100 percent vegan moistur-

The Body Shop’s Katrina Penalba

izer line that works on damp skin and absorbs in seconds. It doesn’t leave a greasy feeling but provides 48 hours of lightweight moisture.

The yogurt moisturizer collection is composed of four flavors: British Rose, Strawberry, Moringa, and Almond Milk; and one limited edition variant: Banana.

It has a gel-like formula turned into cream, which melts into the skin almost instantly. It’s cool and almost water-like as you rub it in, and it leaves a nice scent that lightly lingers for several hours.

The Body Shop’s Body Yogurt is enriched with Community Trade Organic Almond Milk from Mañán in Alicante, Spain.

Mañán provides stability for the cooperative of local, small-scale farmers who extract the almond milk using lowintensity farming methods. They also use broken nuts that are not sold for food and turn unwanted almond husks into compost to help minimize waste.

The Body Yogurt Care Collection is available in all The Body Shop stores nationwide.

DIReCT selling company Avon marked its 40th year in the Philippines with two events held recently that celebrated its representatives all over the country.

The company for women kicked off the celebration for its 40th anniversary with its annual Sales Leaders Congress and National Sales Convention (NASCON). At the business symposium, dubbed “Avon: The Next 40,” Avon’s general manager Razvan Diratian shared how representatives continue to be integral to the company’s success.

Diratian said, “I’d like to thank you and congratulate you that you are part of this dream and this history and also of our future.”

“Forty years is a milestone,” added Avon’s executive director of sales Raffy Lim. He continued, “It is a lifetime of Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano share a light moment with an Avon representative. service, love, and dedication to your reps and downlines, and to your busi- sentatives to redefine success and make to the company’s 40 years of transformness. Maraming maraming pinagda- the best out of life by standing up for ing lives and making something beautianan si Avon Philippines, but the peo- their own dreams and helping others do ful for women everywhere. ple in this room represent the success the same.

Hosted by Avon’s zone manager of Avon. Without you, we are nothing.”

More than just an Thesanee Dela Pena, field sales trainer Award-winning journalist Kara Daanniversary cel- Cha Varilla, and TV personality Drew vid and prominent motivational speakebration, this Arellano, the event at the Mall of Asia er Francis Kong gave stirring messages year’s NAS- Arena also highlighted the empowering of encouragement, pushing Avon CON, with stories of Avon representatives and how reprethe theme they have grown into successful self“Bida Ako sa made women.

Avon,” paid NASCON brought together Avon amtribute bassadors and celebrities such as Marian Rivera, Angel Locsin, Jennylyn Mercado, Julia Montes, Paolo Avelino, and Ruffa Gutierrez. Regine Velasquez, Wally Bayola, Jose Manalo, Richard Poon, Jed Madela, Bamboo, Wilma Doesnt, Hidilyn Diaz, and Tricia Centenera also provided energetic and memorable performances.

The forum was followed by the Recognition and Fellowship night called “Avon Reigns at 40,” wherein the company recognized the hard work of outstanding sales leaders with the executive Awards and Sales Force Awards.

Avon general manager Razvan Diratian (right) with Avon True ambassadors Marian Rivera and Angel Locsin

Entertainment From C4

Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon BFF in laugh-out-loud action adventure

T

WO thirty-year-old best friends in Los Angeles, Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon) put a new hilarious, fallof-your-seat twist in the spy movie genre when they are thrust unexpectedly into an international conspiracy in The Spy Who Dumped Me.

Audrey’s ex-boyfriend shows up at their apartment with a team of deadly assassins on his trail. The duo unwittingly jump into action, on the run throughout Europe from assassins and a suspicious-but-charming British agent on their trail as they hatch a plan to save the world.

Starring with Kunis and McKinnon in The Spy Who Dumped Me are Justin Theroux, Gillian Anderson,

DOWN 1 Textile colorers 2 British peer 3 Ochoa’s gp.

4 Remote 5 — kwon do 6 Not just mine 7 Writer — Bagnold 8 Girder material 9 Stock feeder 10 Gave a new job to do 11 Signs a contract 12 Bunch of flowers 14 Moore of “G.I. Jane” 20 Choose 22 — nova 24 Some hose 25 Great many

Hasan Minhaj, Ivanna Sakhno, and Sam Heughan.

“My character is not an action hero, we’re just average girls trying to do these things. We’re always in these weird circumstances and we’re like ‘Thank God we like each other” and there’s lots of humor, lots of crazy action sequences,” shares Kunis. “We just had a lot of moments of spontaneous love and friendship,” chimes in McKinnon.

“Mila and Kate are both incredibly funny,” says producer Brian Grazer. “But they’re probably the perfect odd couple.”

Director Susana Fogel says there’s a lot to look forward to on the action of The Spy Who Dumped Me. “It was really important that it felt legitimate. We were going for stunts that weren’t ironic, for real actionmovie action. The stunts in the film were handled by veteran stunt coordinator Gary Powell, who has worked on several James Bond films and also served as Pierce Brosnan’s stunt double,” Fogel shares.

From Pioneer Films, The Spy Who Dumped Me opens Aug. 1 in cinemas nationwide.

Feeling the rush with ‘Skyscraper,’

‘MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN’

Dwayne Johnson and Neve Campbell in 'Skyscraper'

SM CINEMA is bringing two new, intense, and exciting releases to movie goers that will give us the massive adrenaline rush. Glide and get thrilled with Skyscraper and experience ultimate glee with Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again as they hit the big screens this month.

Dwayne Johnson is back with a new action-packed thriller. Skyscraper follows the story of former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran, Will Sawyer, who now assesses the security of skyscrapers across the globe.

In an assignment to the tallest and safest building in the world, The Pearl, the towering structure suddenly catches fire and he is the prime suspect. He must then find the real culprits in order to clear his name while trying to rescue his family who is trapped inside the building.

Meanwhile, get ready to sing and dance once again to the sequel of one of the most widely loved musicals of the past decade.

Set ten years after the events of the first movie, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again will show us the struggles

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

55 Firedog 58 Racing boats 62 Weather outlook 63 Livy’s parent 66 Uris of “Topaz” 67 Vaulted recess in a church 68 Novelist — Zola 69 Jason’s vessel 70 Words from Scrooge 71 Hard of hearing 72 Dull brown

nickie.standard@gmail.com

Mila Kunis (left) and Kate McKinnon co-star in 'The Spy Who Dumped Me,' a movie about two BFFs who get wrapped up in an international espionage adventure

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Pastrami seller 5 Some little piggies 9 Vacation jaunt 13 Shrill barks 14 Unnerve 15 Gambler’s town 16 Proof word 17 Chilling 18 Acorn producers 19 Zigzag course 21 “La Mer” composer 23 Mimicking 26 Written records 27 F. — Fitzgerald 30 Over there, poetically 32 Uses FedEx 35 Grimace 36 LPs 38 Moo goo — pan 39 1920s style (2 wds.)

41 Leaning on 43 Shinto or Zen (abbr.)

44 Leaseholder 46 Nerve network 47 Litter 49 Pouch 50 Ore deposits 51 Requirement 53 Most beautiful woman

C3

BENJIE PARAS inks new contract with JDI’s Sureseal

Simply...

I am glad Gary Valenciano or the performer we know as Mr. Pure Energy, is finally cancer free.

Gary V had his first major television interview declaring that after his bypass operation, he underwent another medical procedure when in an incidental finding his cardiologist detected a malignant kidney mass. After the surgery his doctors declare he is now cancer-free.

As one of the country’s most respected Christian artists, the news on his health tested Gary’s faith as he faced another life-threatening challenge which he overcame with the help of one of the best medical teams in the country and an over pouring of prayers from family, friends, and countless fans from all over the world.

“Do know that I am ok now…and I’m ready to comeback soon. Don’t worry k?” Gary posted on official Twitter account for his close to 4 million followers who were worried about news that stated that he still had cancer.

Gary felt pain in his left abdomen and doctors discovered an incidental finding of a six-centimeter malignant tumor in his kidney. Gary went through another operation and doctors found out that the tumor was localized inside his right kidney.

Today, Gary is on the road to full recovery and doctors even said that his heart is so strong as if he has the heart of a 25-year old man.

Gary’s entire family, including his mother and sister who recently flew in from the States, is 100 percent behind him in his ongoing journey to full recovery as he gears up with exciting new projects and his grand return to both television and the live concert stage.

“I am miraculously saved. Doctors were baffled I was healing so well after my open heart surgery despite my diabetes,” says Gary. “When the doctors saw the tumor in my kidney and were able to take it all out without a need for chemo therapy or radiation, I can only say that this is the work of the Lord and nothing else. I am blessed.” *** Filipinos should be glad to know that the no-visa needed to visit the Republic of China (Taiwan) is extended for another year. The trial period will continue until July 31, 2019, and will be reviewed for further extension. This visa-free privilege is a reflection of Taiwan’s goodwill and friendship towards all Filipinos under the “New Southbound Policy,” which aims to build stronger bilateral relations and closer peopleto-people connectivity between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Ambassador Michael Peiyung Hsu, Taiwan’s Representative to the Philippines, highlighted that the Philippines is not only Taiwan’s closest neighbor but also an important partner for Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.”

In recent years, both countries have launched a number of visa liberalization measures, which have resulted in a rapid increase of visitors. The number of two-way visitors hit a record high in 2017 wherein Filipino travelers going to Taiwan reached 290,784 while Taiwanese visitors to the Philippines reached 236,777. This mutual relaxation of visa restrictions is indeed an important factor in improving bilateral overall relations and enhancing people-to-people exchange and cooperation between the two countries.

Representative Hsu believes that it will surely enhance the two countries’ long-standing friendship and further strengthen the multifaceted partnership and cooperation. At the same time, on behalf of the ROC (Taiwan) Government and its people, Representative Hsu urges the Philippine Government and Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) to grant visafree treatment to the people of Taiwan on the basis of reciprocity, so as to attract more Taiwanese tourists and business people to visit the Philippines. This is seen to produce a positive impact on various fields, particularly in tourism, investment, trade, education, culture, agriculture and fisheries. It will be a significant milestone in the bilateral win-win partnership and also enhance the friendly ties and mutual benefits between Taiwan and the Philippines.

A visa-free Filipino visitor must meet the following requirements: 1. An ordinary/regular passport with remaining validity of at least six months from the date of entry (Diplomatic & official passport holders are not eligible for visa-free treatment); 2. A return ticket or a ticket for the traveller’s next destination and a visa for that destination if it is required; 3. No criminal records or other records of misconduct in Taiwan; 4. A proof of accommodation (hotel) booking or host/ sponsor’s contact information or arrangements of tour, travel, visit, events, meetings and the like.

However, those who intend to stay in Taiwan for more than 14 days or for the purpose of study, work, missionary, employment, and other gainful activities are still required to obtain appropriate visas before entering Taiwan.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018

27 Well-dressed 28 Kitchen tool 29 Ridiculous 31 Faint difference 33 Glue down 34 Building lots 36 Do quite well 37 Execs 40 Bygone anesthetic 42 Unbreakable, as a contract 45 Sigh of content 48 Some fishing nets

50 Grassland 52 Round on top 54 Old harp 55 Haik wearer 56 Bay Area valley 57 Cognomen 59 Man of the haus 60 Senator’s garb 61 Haughty type 64 Pedro’s aunt 65 Santa’s helper

of Sophie Sheridan who is pregnant with Sky’s child and is busy running the villa with her mother, Donna Sheridan. Through Donna’s closest friends, Tanya and Rosie, we get to finally find out Donna’s story and how everything began—how she met Sophie’s dads, Sam, Harry, and Bill, how she fronted The Dynamos, and how she carried and raised Sophie all on her own.

Committed to providing you with a premiere cinema experience, SM Cinema boasts high quality facilities and technology that is sure to be enjoyed by you and your loved ones.

Catch Skyscraper, which premiered on July 11, at SM Cinema branches and at IMAX theatres beginning today.

And don’t miss Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again beginning today at SM Cinema branch near you. Tickets can be booked through the website, www.smcinema.com or download the SM Cinema mobile app. You may also follow /SMCinema on Facebook and @SM_Cinema on Instagram for updates.

Cast members of ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’

Benjie Paras and JDI representatives led by Peachy Tiu are all smiles as the actor and former PBA player renews his contract as endorser of Sureseal.

FOR the third straight year, actor and DIY (do-it-yourself) enthusiast Benjie Paras has signed up anew as brand endorser of elastomeric sealant Sureseal, which is being distributed in the Philippines by trusted industry leader Jardine Distribution, Inc. (JDI).

Paras said he readily accepted the offer to be the face of Sureseal for the third year in a row because he considers it both a privilege and an opportunity to be associated with a trusted, top-quality brand that has been aiding homeowners for years now.

During his contract signing in May at Chilli’s Greenhills in San Juan, Paras reaffirmed his regard for Sureseal’s superior product quality and premium value for money.

“I can personally attest to the credibility of the product that I not only represent but have likewise used. This has caused me to be more inspired to build on the gains of our growing partnership,” he said.

Present during the contract signing were Peachy Tiu, JDI’s AVP for Construction Supplies Division, and other brand officials and representatives.

“The past two years with Benjie in our corner have been very productive and fruitful,” Tiu happily stated.

“And we at JDI and Sureseal are very pleased to have him back as our endorser.

“With people like him who value practicality and durability, we are confident that we will continue to communicate our message well across our partners and audiences.”

As Sureseal brand ambassador, Paras excitedly looks forward to exploring more opportunities and working on more projects with JDI, even as he hopes that homeowners like him would be smarter and wiser when purchasing construction supplies especially at the onset of the rainy season.

Aside from Sureseal, JDI continues to advance its advocacy of “Caring for the Filipino” through its other quality product offerings: the Superbrand Solignum for tried and tested wood preservation solutions; Soilguard termiticide to protect your homes from termites; and Super Thoroseal waterproofing to prevent damages caused by leaks and moist accumulation.

Jardine Distribution, Inc., represents a number of local and global companies that provide world-class crop protection and construction chemical products. They are focused on the safe use of these products, providing technical support, and with due consideration of environmental protection.

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

C4

Entertainment

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018

The boys of 1:43 in an artistically shot ‘Ikaw Na Nga Talaga‘ music video filmed at Palazzo Verde in Las Piñas.

1:43 releases new romantic single SINGLES and soon-to-weds alike might be wondering how a man feels when he faces the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with, in front of the altar.

This is the theme of “Ikaw Na Nga Talaga,” an exquisitely romantic ode to matrimony that’s been spun into a music video featuring the four charismatic young men of 1:43 (pronounced as “one forty-three”) —Art Artienda, Ced Miranda, Jason Allen Estroso, and Wayne Avellano.

The band collaborated with no less than the best and finest specialists in the wedding industry for the music video of their newest nuptials-inspired and most romantic single yet.

In the recently launched music video, the boys—impeccably garbed in suits

by Rau Ablaza-Uson—convey intense joy in finding “The One”—something that often eludes even the most ardent lovers.

The masterfully shot and royalwedding-themed music video was filmed by Project Mayo 7 in the most sought-after luxurious garden wedding venue in the country, Palazzo Verde in Las Piñas.

Composed by Jayson Dedal, “Ikaw Na Nga Talaga” comes in the wake of 1:43’s hugely successful back-to-back singles “Trapik Tralala,” which pokes fun at how traffic woes impact romance, and the melodramatic “Pasensya Na.” “This time around, the boys wish to encapsulate the profound, heartfelt emotions people go through when they find the love of their life and decide to share a lifelong commitment with them, particularly during weddings,” says director and 1:43 founder and manager Chris Cahilig.

“And this priceless moment is best portrayed with the romantic flair and flourish and fairy-tale vibe that it deserves,” Cahilig adds.

“Ikaw Na Nga Talaga” can be viewed on 1:43’s official YouTube and Facebook pages. It will be released in various music streaming platforms worldwide including Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music on July 20.

The music video was made possible by collaborations with Project Mayo 7, RAU Atelier Weddings, Palazzo Verde, Elaine Palamos (for makeup), Aries Linsangan (for styling), Dave Sandoval Event Stylist, Salvatore Mann, McJim Classic Leather, Jefferson Si Custom Shoe Design, and The Beauty Empire.

1:43 bagged the 2013 Star Awards for Music Song of the Year for the monster hit “Sa Isang Sulyap Mo” and scored the “Most Promising Performing and Recording Group” recognition in the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation’s 45th BoxOffice Entertainment Awards.

1:43 is co-managed by Cahilig and Mario Colmenares of Primetime Events and Talent Management. For booking inquiries, interested parties may send a message at chriscahilig@ gmail.com or call 09054409521.

HOLLYWOOD English comedian, screenwriter and producer Sacha Baron Cohen hosts 'Who is America,' a new series on Showtime.

LIZA SOBERANO

ISAH V. RED

Another Pinoy makes waves in Indonesia

has ‘No Time To Wait‘

A

T SUCH a young age, Liza Soberano has already attained so much in her career as an A-list actress, with a string of top-rating television shows and top-grossing movie blockbusters to her name, earning her the title of box-office queen.

Yet, with all that she has achieved, Liza also learned to keep her feet firmly on the ground, and never allowed all that success get to her.

In many ways, Liza stands as a role model and inspiration, a reflection of the ideals that the youth aspire for: to be independent and goal oriented, accomplishing feats in their own terms through hard work and a boundless creative energy that pushes them forward. Truly, Liza is youthful, driven, and highly talented.

Similarly, Liza is also the perfect embodiment of TechnoMarine’s “No Time To Wait” campaign, a celebration of the passionate spirit that drives the now generation as they break stereotypes and take hold of the opportunities that come their way. They are relentless, with a clear vision of where they want to go and how to get there.

For young achievers like you on the rise, there’s a TechnoMarine watch that’s your perfect partner at work or at play: the NEW MoonSun with Nato Strap, with the precision of the Quartz movement, a gold-tone stainless steel case with a flame fusion crystal, and 50m water resistant.

Exhibiting a sporty elegance that’s perfectly attuned to your lifestyle, this new TechnoMarine watch is the embodiment of youthful success, just like Liza. Because, really, there’s no time to wait in your journey to the top.

TechoMarine can be found in Greenbelt 3, Robinson’s Galleria, Robinson’s Magnolia, Shangri-La Plaza, SM City Cebu, SM Lanang Premier Davao, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, TriNoma, and Uptown Mall.

‘Kilig’ Alert LizQuen fans are all abuzz online because of new photos that the stars posted separately on their Instagram accounts. Both photos feature Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil looking into each other’s eyes, and both are captioned with lyrics to Rivermaya’s “Balisong.”

Recently, more adorable photos of the pair have emerged, which show them laughing and perfectly capturing the best moments of their night. These new photos may well be from a LizQuen ‘date’ no one knew about until now that the pair shared a link of a video, which perfectly captured their moments together.

Since it’s posting on Saturday, the promotional video for Samsung Galaxy J8 has amassed almost 400 thousand views, 30 thousand likes, 1 thousand comments, and 5 thousand shares.

Liza responded by posting a photo also with lyrics off of Balisong: “Never in my life have I been more sure.”

Enrique offers a smiling Liza his hand for a dance.

Sacha Baron Cohen splits critics with TV return WHO is America? is both the title of Sacha Baron Cohen’s first foray into television satire in more than a decade and the existential question on the lips of liberals living through the Trump presidency.

Trailed by a blaze of pre-launch publicity and a furious backlash from public figures who believe they have been pranked, its splashy debut won most attention Sunday for hoodwinking Republican politicians into endorsing a made-up plan to train pre-schoolers how to fire a gun.

The series brings seven episodes to pay-to-view channel Showtime years after the British comedian was last on television with Da Ali G Show -- his wannabe-rapper character interviewing the powerful and famous.

In Who is America? Cohen conjures up four new characters. Billy Wayne

Ruddick Jr., is an opponent of “mainstream” media who debates healthcare with left-leaning Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

There is Nira Cain-N’degeocello, a pink-hat wearing, ultra-liberal hippy, who dines at the home of a Trumpvoting couple.

Rick Sherman is an ex-con turned artist who works in the medium of human feces and bodily fluids, and who meets a totally accepting California gallery owner who donates pubic hair to his paint brush.

Finally, Israeli “anti-terror expert” Colonel Erran Morad pranks Republicans into endorsing a concocted plan to teach children as young as three and four how to fire a firearm, along with a “Puppy Pistol.”

Teasers for the new series saw US former vice president Dick Cheney

signing a “waterboard kit” and Sarah Palin unleash a furious Facebook attack, upset to have been one of Cohen’s pranked subjects.

Palin, the former vice presidential nominee and ex-Alaska governor who did not appear in the first episode, slammed the comedian’s “evil, exploitive, sick ‘humor.’”

But if early reviews are more muted, they are also mixed.

The New York Times called the first episode “tepid and inconsequential,” and ill-suited to the times.

If The New Yorker waxed lyrical about “sporadically excellent conceptual art,” trade magazine Variety warned Cohen’s nihilism can “itch and irritate more than enlighten and entertain.”

The Guardian praised “one moment of viral gold” but otherwise lamented “mostly a frustrating experience.” AFP

NO, CHRISTIAN Bautista is not alone. Another Filipino has crashed into the Indonesian entertainment universe.

And his name is Teejay Marquez.

Unlike other celebrities who get complacent, former Kapuso tween star Teejay Marquez doesn’t want to rest on the laurels he scored in Indonesia since 2016.

Keen showbiz watchers will remember that Teejay became a big hit in Indonesia when one of his Dubsmash videos went viral, earning him an avalanche of fans and followers in the progressive Southeast Asian capital.

This was soon followed with offers to star in a movie (Dubsmash The Movie), a TV series, as well as an endless stream of media interviews where he was hailed as one of the Philippines’ brightest and most promising young talents.

Last year, while taking a brief hiatus from his busy showbiz itinerary in Jakarta, he flew back to Manila for a much-needed rest. In August 2017, he signed up with Arnold Vegafria’s management outfit, ALV Talent Circuit, and at the same time signed up with Regal Entertainment.

It was late last year when Teejay flew back to Indonesia to start filming for a TV soap dubbed Siapa Takut Katij Cinta (Who’s Afraid to Fall In Love?), an adaptation of the 2001 Taiwanese drama series Meteor Garden, which was a big hit in the Philippines and the Asian region.

Because of his hectic taping schedule back then (Monday to Sunday), Teejay had no time to take on other Manilabased projects. Teejay’s calendar is much freer these days now. And, he’s back in Manila.

Asked to recap his last Indonesia trip, he shared, “I also flew to Malaysia for some documents, to Hong Kong for some social media jobs, and also to Manila.”

While there, Teejay was also able to launch his eponymous mobile phone app.

“It’s all about me—photos, videos, updates, and even games. Users can win prizes. When we launched in Indonesia, we had a game and the winner flew to Manila to have a date with me, allexpenses paid. We will be launching that very soon here in Manila,” he proudly shares. He also revealed his collaboration with telecom companies.

In the meantime, Teejay is very excited about his new project. He will soon star in a movie directed by Adolf Alix, Jr. While here, he also hopes to sign with a major network, to star in a drama series and/or movie and maybe also close some endorsements and business ventures.

His manager Arnold Vegafria feels proud of his ward’s latest accomplishments.

He says, “With what he’s done in Indonesia, Teejay could rightfully be called our ambassador of goodwill. It’s rare to have someone so young and talented waving the Philippine flag proudly in foreign shores. But more than that, what’s admirable is that he’s managed to do all this while maintaining a very clean and wholesome image, making him a perfect role model for our Pinoy youth.”

Now that he’s gone past his tween years, Teejay feels ready for more acting challenges. He says, “Yes, I think I’m ready to do some daring roles and some challenging roles to show what I can do.

Change is good!” Continued on C3

Actor and SocMed star Teejay Marquez